Nightmare

The wind was a bit hectic, I overflew to inspect the windsock, it was blowing for RWY 24, straight down the runway, so I made my intention over the radio to join crosswind RWY 24. When I turned Downwind the sock had moved around 90° across the runway. I continued for a nice crosswind landing. But it was quite turbulent up there. My 75kt Lightwing was rocketing along at 100kts ground speed on the way there, but was putt-putting along at 55kts GS on the return trip.

I saw one of the yellow Foxbats getting a pre-flight when I flew into Caboolture this morning.

In my opinion you have an excellent plan of attack Parkway. You will love the study, it's a fascinating subject, it will push your mind. The flight sim.... yes, you can effectively test your xc skills by using it, I did. One memorable occasion was when I had to plan for a flight from Coominya(YBCM) to Millmeran(YMMN). I thought I'd practice some XC skills on the sim, the day before. I thought, Damn! this sim is no good, there's no good landmarks on the way, the river that is on the map, isn't there. oh well, just stay on the bearing, keep the time markers up to date, then a large lake came into view right on queue, and I knew where I was. When I did the flight for real, I was impressed just how void of landmarks that stretch was, the rivers that were supposed to be there, were hidden by foliage or dry and unrecognizable, and like the sim, I just held the bearing and just like the sim, the lake came into view, right on time. The study material has some very good practice exams that prepares you well for the RAAus XC exam. When you get the Study material, make sure you invest in a flight computer (Kane MK6B is used in the study material, I inherited my fathers 6B who purchased it in the 1960's, it is still good and relevant) and aviation rulers and protractor. The study refers to them often and you will not understand some of the concepts unless you have one in your hands. Also get yourself a copy of ERSA, VFRG and up to date charts of the area around where you are going to fly(VTC, VNC and WAC), closer to when you are planning to start your training. A PCA helps you interpret weather reports. Your instructor will advise you, before you start, of other gear you may need. There are a lot of concepts to get your head around, but for me, it all came together when my instructor said, "You just have to follow the snake" The snake being the series of pinpoints you make along the path to your destination. As I said, you will love it! Tony

Welcome Mike! As others have said, it is never too late. The most difficult step is your first. I've wanted to fly ever since my dad got his PPL back in the 1960's. He passed away in 2003, and I still hadn't take that first and hardest step. Well, at the age of 50, I bit the bullet and started my flight training in April last year, completing my RPC in February this year. I quite often fly into Caboolture these days. I'm actually planning to fly there tomorrow to have coffee and lunch with my mum. I hope the weather is kinder than it is today. Tony

I can highly recommend the D-H XC manual, I just passed my XC with it. Word of advice though, give yourself plenty of time to study the material before you commence your training, there is a lot for you to get your head around.Also, prepare yourself financially for the training, each nav ex is between 2 and 3 hours, I did 7 navs, about 20 hours to complete mine. I have to say though, it is a hell of a lot of fun getting through it. Tony.

That hasn't been my experience lately. Every time time I book the plane, terrible weather and have to cancel, including today. Just bad timing I guess. I'm glad you're having better luck Sue.Welcome Henry! I hope the WX improves for you soon Tony

If the ALA is not in ERSA with a CTAF, I was taught to transmit my intentions on the area frequency.

Quite a strong headwind though.

Wow! how frustrating! Trailering a nice big 65% scale plane like that in, setting it up, and not being able to jump in it and take it for a fly and take in all the fantastic views! That's one of the downsides to the RC hobby.

You know Dale, that sounds familiar, so you probably did see me overhead, the wind was favouring 04 when I was last there.... I was booked in to do some more in the Tecnam on Wednesday but had to cancel... damn flu!

I fly out from YBCM Coominya. I see you're in Boonah. I've been out there recently, slowly getting type certified on the Tecnam 2008 that Airsport has there for private hire. Tony

Have a chat with a local flight instructor, for a single seater it may only require a strip run or two with the instructor observing. When you said, lapsed licence, does that mean you are no longer a financial RAA member? I believe you can get current again in any qualifications just by doing your BFR and becoming financial again. You need all the endorsements for that type of aircraft, so if you need a taildragger endorsement, finish it off as a priority.

I guess, like the gliders, aircraft have 2 stages for Landing, the first is getting into the plane, taxiing and the take off. It is there you can orientate where you sit in relation to the height above the runway.Hope that helps, otherwise, look at the for landing, it helped me.Tony

I think that as long as there's dual controls, you should be good to go. But does the aircraft have to be factory built, that is 24 or 55 or whatever the Thruster version of rego for factory built is? My CFI offers lessons in students aircraft if they have one.... it greatly reduces the costs. Thrusters are 3 axis A/C? You already fly a Jab LSA? You may just need a type endorsement and finish your Tail Wheel Endorsement if it's a tailwheeler.

As a science excursion, my science class went to one of his seminars that he was hosting in the late '70's. He was one smart man. I didn't quite understand what he was saying, and my science teacher admitted he didn't either. He thought on a much higher plane. He went on to be the originator of my nick name when I was in the army.... "Cadbury Man" because I could only handle "a glass and a half" before I was wasted..... I could've been called worse. Tony

I think it was a bad communication issue. Did you hear the conversation near the end of the video?

Hi Paul, Welcome, nice looking bird! Tony

Hi Hayden and Alicia, welcome... awesome vids! Tony

You don't need to save much, just have about $300 in disposable money for your training and a regular commitment of lesson money, and do the lessons as you can afford them. You have a month, or 3 flight lessons free before you have to fork out for your Student License. Most schools don't ask for the whole lot up front. Tony

Welcome Dunny:welcome:. I did the same thing early last year, and totally got a full dose of the flying bug. I achieved my Pilot's Certificate and PAX endorsement in Feb and my X-Country last month.If you want to go PPL I would say that the only downside would be the training rates. To go RAAus (RPC), the rates are typically from $200 - $250 per hour but GA(PPL) is typically $300 + per hour. An option could be for you getting your RPC+X-Country endorsement. Do a few more hours XC get a medical and convert to a RPL doing a flight test in the larger A/C. You can fly a few multi-seat aircraft under a RPL. Going this way would ensure most of your training is done at the lower cost. I found that a lesson per week is the optimum, one a fortnight is ok, but any longer you tend to be playing catch up revising the skills you attained last lesson. For RPC I anticipate your initial costs will be your Student Licence $210, a Pilot Kit, $160-$195, this includes log book, and text books. When you get your certificate, hire rates are much less than the training rates. RAAus aircraft are generally easier and cost less to maintain than GA, if you want to get into aircraft ownership. The most difficult step to my pilot's certificate for me, was the first one. Good luck with it all, let us know how your doing when you start your training. Cheers Tony.

Welcome Pat:welcome:I'm glad you're already reading the weather, can be life or death stuff in our hobby you know..... Cheers Tony

Welcome Pete:welcome:, as they have said, 60 is young here. It wasn't that long ago that I found myself in your position. You are in for some awesome experiences! So what are you thinking of flying? Tony

Sideslips put the aircraft in an unbalanced state, therefore increasing drag and the stall speed. However, as your approach speed is generally well above stall, you can do this quite safely, for the benefit of a higher descent rate without adjusting your speed. As others have said here, check the POH to see if sideslips are ok, as there may be structural issues with doing them.When I was doing my training, I was taught it is hazardous to do a sideslip in a turn, those 2 conditions increasing the stall speed. My guess is that Tiger Moths don't have flaps so therefore, I would've thought sideslipping would be a big part of the operation of this aircraft. If the speed isn't managed carefully, a stall in a sideslip could occur slightly higher that the rated stall speed. A rather nasty possibility when you stall during a sideslip, is a wingdrop....

Hi Dale and welcome! Tony

Hey RJW, I would highly recommend getting a copy of the Visual Flight Rules Guide (VFRG) It is a great summary of all the flight rules you need when flying in an easy to read and well set out format.