Pearo

Ask any instructor about a student who flies with sims. Not my word. In fact, I was encouraged to avoid the sim when I was learning to fly. And I have logged time in a CASA approved synthetic trainer, for instrument training. As for paying to see where the altimeter and tacho, when I started training I was paying them to cover up the instruments.

I beg to differ re CASA. CASA may be a roadblock, but its not what is stopping GA in Australia. What stops GA Australia is rising costs, and this comes from increased aircraft prices (a bog standard new GA trainer is now costing around half a million dollars), increase in fuel prices, increases in insurance costs. Put simple, GA is just not affordable anymore. Compared to the US, its still not cheap, but when I was there and the dollar was about $0.72 the cost to hire an aircraft with an instructor was almost half of what I pay for a private hire in Australia.

It also teaches you to fly by instruments, which is a bad thing.

Sad day.

I am a PPL student and I fly out of YRED. Training at RAC, but I will come for a fly if you need company! If I fly with you though, I would love to use the opportunity to practice my DR though. Happy to flick a few dollars to offset the costs as well. I am doing my final solo nav this week, so hopefully will do my flight test soon, but I will still fly with you, especially if its midweek flights!!

Finally, managed to get my final instructed nav done and signed off on. Weather was still looking ordinary with severe turbulance, but most of it was gone by the time I hit the skies. Got signed off on everything which means I can do my second solo cross country trip now! So close to finishing up now...

You sir, are a genuine asset to flight training in the area. I have done many a forced landing practice at you airfield. If there is anything I can do to help you, please let me know.

Brisbane still permit training, just be prepared to wait.

flying is already expensive enough thank you very much. I think I heard recently the landing fee at Brisbane was $100 for a typical GA trainer (ie C172)

Wont be long. Once you go solo, the licence comes very fast. Are you doing PPL? If you sit your RPL at Bankstown, does they make do the CTA endoresement as well? Otherwise, I am guessing you cannot carry passengers (a privilege under your RPL) as you would be flying as a PPL solo student, rather than an RPL pilot in command.

I dont get this. RAAus is the backbone of recreation flying, and with increasing airspace activity from RPT I think its mad to exclude RAAus pilots from CTA. We are already seeing talk of more CTA at places like Ballina as well as extensions of Brisbane and Gold Coast. I am not sure what the standard is for obtaining a licence under RAAus, but provided you can meet the standards required for Class D and C then I can't see any issue with anyone using that airspace. CTA is not that hard to fly in. As for why, well once you start flying in CTA you know why. Its very nice knowing someone else is assisting in maintaining separation for you. To many people are scared of CTA and ATC, and in my opinion this is a bad thing. Learning how to interact with ATC can only be a positive thing in my book, another tool to help you on those odd occasions where you might need help.

This is good stuff. I love flying in controlled airspace now. Once you do a few trips, you realise the procedures are not that hard and that ATC are not mega procedure nazi's either but rather really helpful bunch of people. I am sure when I stuff up my read back it must be annoying, but as I get more experience I have less issues. We all have to start somewhere. What I have realised, is that if in doubt, ask ATC for clarification (although make sure you study the airport and procedures before hand). Also ring the tower on the phone for advice before you leave, to date I have not talked to anyone who was not 100% helpful. Same goes for the BOM people, call them, they are great. I also thing its a great thing when rec pilots visit the tower and meet the ATC's in person. I managed to get a tour of Brisbane Tower and Brisbane Centre (thanks to a good friends cousin who was the boss their at the time). Also, as a PPL student at Redcliffe, we are supposed to visit the Sunny Coast tower as well (although I have not managed to yet due to time constraints). IF anyone can get a tower visit, then do it, its a must.

That was more a dig at me. I was out on a private hire (IVW), and the call sign from my last nav excercise (SPP) was still in ozrunways. That particular plane (SPP) was out on hire to someone else at the time who was also using ozrunways. I only found out because one of the staff were looking at ozranways and saw 2 SPP's out and about.

Or hire aircraft. Quite often, you will see the same call sign in 2 different places

Still no good!!!! Friggin weather. Managed to get a landing in at the Gold Coast, before having to divert back to Redcliffe. I knew the weather was going to close in, but decided to attempt the flight anyway. But there was 2 positives, I got checked off on CTA, so they are happy that I am competent to fly class D and C. Got to experience some new ATC interaction due to weather diversions/traffic etc. About the only thing I stuffed up was I missed the clearance to land at GC, they would have repeated it I am sure, but the instructor jumped in for me. I also got to fly absolute VFR minimums and got to do some scud running! Had I not been with an instructor, I would have not flown today. It was a bit nerve wracking in the low vis stuff, but it was a really excellent exercise. Anyway, next friday I am doing a mini nav exercise to get checked off on lost procedure and low level diversions, then thats it. Do a solo nav into CTA and then do a flight test.

Just an update; still have not done my last instructed nav. I am also an asthmatic and ended up in hospital a few weeks back with pneumonia. I was pretty pleased when one of my flights was not possible due to IMC anyway!! See, its not always my fault for not flying! Its all happening tomorrow, fingers crossed, although I cannot for the life of me find my Brisbane-Gold Coast VTC.

Ok, I am going to fess up here and say I have cocked up twice now. And I suggest before people criticize, please know that I am already aware of the problem, and I have addressed it. We all make mistakes. In my opinion, a good pilot will admit to mistakes and learn from that. I am trying to be a good pilot. 1. Was supposed to do a flight to coffs, weather was crap so we headed north to bundaberg instead. I am a student at this point (although I consider myselft a student for life), and whilst not a training flight per se, I have next to me in the right seat a very experienced instructor. I am a well seasoned sailor, so I get weather. Heading back from bundaberg we hit the front that stopped us going south. I did not expect is so soon, neither did the BOM, neither did the pilot sitting next to me. In fact, we were one of a group of about 5 aircraft doing the same trip. On the way home, we have a fuel imbalance so we switch to the tank that has more fuel. Getting close to home we are dodging storms and rain squalls, constantly looking at the radar. Somehow both of us missed the fuel situation, and only realised that one tank was low when the alert sounded (g1000). Now my regular checks include monitoring the fuel guages EVERY SINGLE TIME do my nav checks. Also, as I gain my experience I find I carry not much more than the fuel I require for safety reasons, so now I am constantly checking my fuel gauges and cross checking with my fuel plan/log. 2. Not long after I got my RPL, I did a flight out and about just to enjoy flying without the training part. Coming back to the airport, I was greeted with a lot of aircraft coming into land, and somehow in the panic of trying to track all the other aircraft in the circuit I missed my pre landing checks. At the time, I was on one tank when the POH stipulates both (C172S), I realised after I landed. There was no danger at the time, as I had plenty of fuel, but had I been ending a long flight it could have been a different story. Now, I do an informal pre landing check within about 10nm of landing. Then as usual, on downwind (or about 2-3 mile out when straight in, base join at Class C or D) I do my formal pre-landing checklist. Lucky for me, my mistakes have not resulted in bad outcomes. I hope that I learn enough from my errors so that I can prevent future problems. I only have about 150 hours total flying experience to date, so no doubt I will make more mistakes. However I am doing everything I can to prevent it, and I probably take more from other pilots fessing up to their errors than anything else. Also, I find by teaching I become better educated. So me owning up teaches me a lesson and the result is always positive.

Ok, I am going to fess up here and say I have cocked up twice now. And I suggest before people criticize, please know that I am already aware of the problem, and I have addressed it. We all make mistakes. In my opinion, a good pilot will admit to mistakes and learn from that. I am trying to be a good pilot. 1. Was supposed to do a flight to coffs, weather was crap so we headed north to bundaberg instead. I am a student at this point (although I consider myselft a student for life), and whilst not a training flight per se, I have next to me in the right seat a very experienced instructor. I am a well seasoned sailor, so I get weather. Heading back from bundaberg we hit the front that stopped us going south. I did not expect is so soon, neither did the BOM, neither did the pilot sitting next to me. In fact, we were one of a group of about 5 aircraft doing the same trip. On the way home, we have a fuel imbalance so we switch to the tank that has more fuel. Getting close to home we are dodging storms and rain squalls, constantly looking at the radar. Somehow both of us missed the fuel situation, and only realised that one tank was low when the alert sounded (g1000). Now my regular checks include monitoring the fuel guages EVERY SINGLE TIME do my nav checks. Also, as I gain my experience I find I carry not much more than the fuel I require for safety reasons, so now I am constantly checking my fuel gauges and cross checking with my fuel plan/log. 2. Not long after I got my RPL, I did a flight out and about just to enjoy flying without the training part. Coming back to the airport, I was greeted with a lot of aircraft coming into land, and somehow in the panic of trying to track all the other aircraft in the circuit I missed my pre landing checks. At the time, I was on one tank when the POH stipulates both (C172S), I realised after I landed. There was no danger at the time, as I had plenty of fuel, but had I been ending a long flight it could have been a different story. Now, I do an informal pre landing check within about 10nm of landing. Then as usual, on downwind (or about 2-3 mile out when straight in, base join at Class C or D) I do my formal pre-landing checklist. Lucky for me, my mistakes have not resulted in bad outcomes. I hope that I learn enough from my errors so that I can prevent future problems. I only have about 150 hours total flying experience to date, so no doubt I will make more mistakes. However I am doing everything I can to prevent it, and I probably take more from other pilots fessing up to their errors than anything else. Also, I find by teaching I become better educated. So me owning up teaches me a lesson and the result is always positive.

I heard someone announcing a first solo in 7600 on the Saturday. I was on the way back from Moreton Island (doing a bit of whale watching with my wife), and got to witness that persons first solo from the dead side!! Whoever it was, did well. Nice tight circuit and looked like a good landing from 1000' up.

I did some great crosswind work in San Francisco, think 30+ knots gusting. I have never experienced anything quite like that before. I was scared of sub 10 knots crosswind before. Crosswinds don't scare me anymore

I should probably have said full moon hotel, or the Osborne as I still call it. I have met a few ATC there thanks to a fellow called Geoff!

Years ago I was a passenger in a car driving along a 6' fence out west at night. A roo jumped the fence and cleared the car. I was very drunk at the time, but the driver who was sober confirmed that it was not my imagination. There were also 2 passengers in the backseat who will also testify that I was not imagining it.

Shags, I wonder if I know you. Do you ever visit the full moon hotel?

So you are saying you understand the appeal of drugs?

I have a GME MT400 that has a battery that is about to expire. I bought it when the old GPS system was turned off, so paid a premium for it (needed it for offshore boating). After reading this thread, I decided to log into AMSA (ausbeacon) website to check the battery expirey on my EPIRB and PLB. This is what I found. EPIRB - still registered (it is illegal to have an unregistered EPIRB on a boat in QLD). Primary contact: Still Valid. Secondary Contact Invalid (my mother, who has since passed), Tertiary contact - my mother inlaw who is pretty much incapable of anything. Residential Address - incorrect. Battery expirey date, not listed (although I know its early 2016). PLB - no longer registerd - all details as above. So it pays to check in from time to time. Also, if you are going to dispose of an EPIRB/PLB/ELT, make sure you do it properly. Take it to a place that will remove the battery so the beacon is totally ineffective. I have worked in Search and Rescue and the most annoying thing is expired beacons being triggered.