Ada Elle

You can practice all of those without a flight sim. You know what a flight sim is really good for? Instrument navigation. Even there it doesn't simulate how crappy some of the navaids are (both on the ground and in the air)

I'm planning on doing that (NVFR/IFR training), but when I was looking at the NOTAM times, I determined that I would go if the weather was forecast to be perfect. As it was I stayed fairly close to home base instead and I'm glad I did because the weather deteriorated rather badly and I drove through cloud on the escarpment on the way home. I'm not saying that I will suffer from gethomeititis. I'm saying that the potential for that is causing stayathomeitis, and if you want young pilots to come to things... As for dates: I don't know about other states, but there's a long weekend coming up.

1. Commercial airlines fly IFR. When I did some instrument training the instructor commented that I must have simmed before, because I was very comfortable flying by instruments only. 2. The takeoffs and landings are unrealistic, at least when comparing MSFSX to anything I've flown. 3. I don't know of any flying school that charges for engine-off briefing time (within reason).

Perhaps then RAAus would have changed its revenue mix to be more from airplane rego and FTFs than from members. This may help keep people in - people probably aren't going to de-register their aircraft and re-register them, but they may balk at paying $200 annually if they're not flying. I know I didn't pay dues for three years because I was too busy with work to fly. (you could tax student training hours at $5 per hour, or something like that, to account for the fact that school airplanes get a lot more time put through them than privately owned ones, and thus on a per hour basis school aircraft are cheaper to register.) Also, it's not clear with the insurance whether it applies to RA-Aus members flying non RA-Aus aircraft: (there is no restriction in the document to solely aircraft registered with RA-AUs). Can someone tell me what the 'member liability insurance' in the revenue section of the accounts is? Who pays this 282k in liability insurance?

And that is why it becomes a pastime of retired gentlemen. If you want to attract young people...

I wanted to go. I had a plane booked. I then looked at the weather, which was forecast to worsen, and the cloud base, and decided against it. If the temporary closure had finished half an hour earlier (1530 rather than 1600) that would have had more safety margin. I understand it's a tradeoff. I'm just trying to say that leaving enough time afterwards to get back to Sydney comfortably, rather than making it tight, might have encouraged this little black dog and other pilots to go for the day.

That's a fast jab or a bold jab pilot. The route I'd take (mittagong, west to avoid the mountains, then tracking via orange to narromine) is 205nm. In anything other than a J230 that's more than two hours. Otherwise there's a lot of tiger country to the west of the oaks, and cloud base was low enough that you couldn't use altitude.

I know that the times were in the notams. I saw them, and decided that I wasn't going. For me: I've never hired an aircraft for an overnight trip before. I don't know how many other pilots are in this category. Secondly, there are some aircraft that just don't have the physical room to take overnight bags for two. So staying overnight isn't a great option. I know that getthereitis is bad. So why set up the times to tempt getthereitis? Temora is a reasonable day trip from both Melbourne and Sydney (200-250nm). Definitely not a day trip from Brisbane. Narromine: Day trip from Sydney. 400nm from Melbourne/Brisbane - tight for a day trip. Gunnedah: Day trip from Sydney/Brisbane. Too far from Melbourne to day trip unless you're rocketing.

Consider that you can't leave until after 1600, and that last light on the coast was in the order of 1810. Given the fairly low cloud base on the day, I don't think you would have made it home to anywhere east of the mountain, at least not with a margin of safety. Add in the queue to leave; how many people were off the ground before 1630?

Having the Dividing Ranges between the major population centres and the fly-in will always reduce the number of pilots! Also, if it were held later in the year (during Daylight Savings) some of us would have been able to get home afterwards. That's one of the main reasons I didn't go.

Some of it is the fact that motor gliding, the bottom end of GA, and the expensive end of RA, are all coinciding now. I agree with you for 95.55 machines (other than the medical!) - there's no reason why 450-750kg machines should be able to be registered with three different bodies, and have three different sets of rules, in this country. (Something like the Pipistrel Sinus Flex - which has removable wingtips, and so can be motor glider VH, 24 or GA VH). Keeping 95.10 as an exemption I think is important in light of the ozzies of the world.

No, it seriously wasn't. I kept on busting out of my assigned altitude with all the turbulence around. Wing drops everywhere. Like being in a washing machine. Places to land on harbour scenic one: north sydney oval, the domain... A Warrior II is 12:1, so 1500ft buys you 3 miles if you're really lucky. North Sydney Oval is about 1.2, Moore Park is just under 2. Some tall buildings to dodge on the way, though! Sydney Tower were lovely. We couldn't get Scenic One due to traffic, so did Scenic Two, then asked for Scenic one, and after tracking to Manly went back to the bridge for one loop (not the two you normally get with a Scenic One). Lots of talking to CTA. I'm glad I didn't cancel the lesson - did three lots of talking to ATC for the day.

Reasons to get controlled airspace endorsements: (Also, when NAIPS says SEV TURB BLW 8000, believe it!

Maryland isn't in New England.

Which planes have a T-stabilator? That seems like it's just asking for it in terms of having the tail fall apart.

Is there a better place for it, though? I'm trying to think of an airfield near a major centre which has parking for 200 planes.

VFR doesn't mean fair-weather only. Perhaps the problem is lumping together 95.10 and 95.55.

At the Oaks on Saturday there was a good mix of ages. If you're worried about the age mix, look at gliding! The vast majority are retired men, it seems.

You could, of course, find a school with a 152 Aerobat. I wonder why the Tomahawk's tail stops flying at 55 knots. Not a problem with any other T-tailed aircraft I've flown (all two only!)

I struggle with yoke planes for the first 5 minutes, remembering which control is the steer on the ground one. Never a problem with stick and rudder planes.

Stabilator, or stabilisor? I fly a plane with a T-tail. It's derived from a motor glider. The other common motor-glider derived plane, the Diamond DA20/40, is also T-tailed. (reduces drag, and lets you take the tail apart for trailering.)

Bathurst runway is almost a mile long and super easy to land on other than the slope. I think they teach to land with power at CWFS. Are you looking down the end of the runway? There's no substitute for intentional practice.

http://australianaviation.com.au/2015/09/lockheeds-team-21-finally-confirmed-as-air-5428-winning-bidder/ suggests that Tamworth might turn CTAF.

Is there a good way of dealing with this? I've been struggling with it a bit on an aircraft with Va 76, Vb 108, Vno 110, Vne 135.... and it'll cruise at 115 happily solo. Can easily go to 125 in a shallow dive with power (80hp rotax at 5200rpm)

There are some Israeli made 50-80hp Wankels used in their UAVs. I wonder if they'd sell the engines to civvies.