ab3198

Sorry, dangerous was meant to have a ? not an !

My dad and I bought a Roko Via (low wing with forward hinged canopy) which is a great little plane- very well specced, good cruise, flys beautifully and looks great! The first comment my x-country instructor made was that it was a pretty dangerous place to be if you flipped it during a forced landing as you had no way to exit the aircraft. To be honest that wasn't something we thought about when buying the plane but is something we have thought a lot about since to the point we are considering selling and buying something else. What are people's thoughts on this? Are you comfortable flying in a plane with this configuration?

Hey Tony, my only advice would be to prep well on the airports you are flying to... I found getting to the destination relatively easy but it was more of a challenge to orient your self at a new airport and get the circuit entry sorted. I always had a drawing of my destination airport with me so I didn't get confused with runway numbers etc. For the theory test I was surprised with how many questions focussed on minor details and references. I felt I had a solid understanding of all the major areas but I was caught out by some of the questions focusing on small details. I still passed but had to take a punt on a few. Also be prepped to answer some questions on BAK and human factors.... Good luck!!!

Sounds good Rich, my parents have a house in Bulli so Wollongong will be one of my first destinations. I finished the x country endorsement today (in a jab 160 as mine is in the shop) so I will be up your way soon!

Thanks roundsounds, my instructor told me I just had to have the theory test complete to do the final prac exam?? In hindsight the theory exam didn't really add much in my mind, I did a lot of study but only a small amount of theory was actually relevant....

Hi all, I passed my Nav theory test this evening so I just have my Nav flight test to complete before I finish my cross country endorsement. Like previous RA Aus tests this one focussed on a lot of small, fairly obscure details but I feel it missed out on covering the more relevant topics. My cross country flights have all gone well, two of them required diversions due to poor weather which was good experience. On my solo Nav my battery went flat on the second leg which required a landing with no trim, flap or radio which was also a good learning experience... So, if the weather holds out I will have my x country endorsement by the end of this week... I have already started planning my first few trips from Wagga to the south coast and can't wait to get exploring. Cheers, Andrew

Hi tony, did you do you first navex? How did it go? I have just finished my third nav with my instructor on board and will be doing my solo on Sunday. If the weather holds out i will do my theory test and prac test on Wednesday next week. Cheers, Andrew

Ha ha, thanks chips, it was a pretty calm arvo that day so it definitely should have been a reasonable landing! I assume your're based at Coota? Do you fly from there?

Thanks chips, I'm going up with Fred tomorrow for a navex! I'll check with him re the pressures. Cheers

hi, I have a Roko Via (like the bristell) with 5.00-5 6 ply tyres. Nowhere in the POH does it mention tyre pressures, can any one suggest what I should be running? Cheers, Andrew

Thanks Kasper and Rick, I spoke to Bert Floods yesterday who said they can do a bench test on the modules, I just need to send them down. Hopefully that might show an easy (cheap) fix. I would find it hard to take that I would need to spend $1300 to replace each module on a near new engine...

Hi all, I have a roko via with the 912 rotax. Since we bought it (it had 100hrs when purchased last year and have put on 50 since) i have had intermittent problems with being able to shutdown the engine. When the key is turned to off the engine continues to run and can only be stopped by turning off the fuel. I replaced the ignition switch but this didn't help. At the last inspection I asked the Lame to check it again but as with any intermittent issue it shutdown with no problems and they could not identify the fault. Has anyone else experienced this? Any suggestions? Cheers, Andrew

Another update, I did my first solo flight today!! after 9.5 hrs dual I now have 0.1 hrs in my logbook with self as pilot in command... I only did 1 circuit and it was over before I knew it.. I was much higher than usual on final so I dropped full flap and managed a pretty clean landing right on my target area. Now I can't stop grinning and will be flying again as soon as the weather clears. Cheers , Andrew

Just a quick update, I'm now 6 hours in to my recreational certificate and still having a ball. I've been doing circuits for the past couple of lessons and starting to get in the rhythm. My landings weren't too pretty today but I'm confident that I could do a circuit and get back down without breaking anything... Next lesson we are going back to practice forced landings which I'm looking forward to. Cheers Andrew

Hi, Thanks for the welcomes! I did my second lesson this morning and enjoyed it even more than the first. This flight was in the high wing Tecnam eaglet and we practiced climbing and descending turns and level flight. My instructor also demonstrated a few stalls which I enjoyed. On my next lesson he said I get to do the take off - i can't wait!! Cheers Andrew