SSCBD

Or are planning to.

What's your escape plan?

Yes, some don't warm to it. They prefer something around them. You don't know till you try, just what your reaction will be. The biggest failing is forgetting to put the helmet visor down. Nev

You forget FT - that Frank has a white stick he puts in front of him feeling the way. Franks hard core - what helmet.

And if your last BFR was in a Bonanza or Cirrus...? It is not as simple as saying "If I can fly GA I can fly RAA"...

Hi KR how many hours have you got in GA and RAA? Beech or cirrus is not a problem with flying RAA. God I still fly twins and don't have a problem jumping in a RAA plane after that.

Yes if you are new to RAA from GA you would want to fly with an instructor to get the feel of RAA plane. But to the poster, why not just call any RAA CFI and ask the question not the RAA office instead of killing off all these electrons on the website with - BUT WHAT IF!!!!!!

Jesus Christ - OK lets stop the merry go-round.

If you are able to fly a GA aircraft today legally - you can fly a RAA aircraft with a RAA pilot cert. No other BS required. Just bring your GA logbook that's says you are current with a GA BFR. You do not need to do a RAA BFR.

Foxbat has it as an option I believe

Yes if you have a current ga BFR - no need for RAA BFR. Just show log book

Fail and grounded. No excuse for this, a go around should have been done. The moment they were on the wrong side of the centre line should have rung bells its all gone to hell.

Write a letter to the Minister and express those problems and why REPCON reporting is not viable to those who have concerns . He the minister will have to ask CASA what in hell is going on, I know he is only a figure head but he still can yell.

If a problem occurs it will look bad on him as he was warned. Just give a copy to the opposition.

It might be worth an CASA incident report as the training company is not operating safely for a start. From all you guys at different airports. Who would want to be a CFI for this known problem?

Back when I trained at Bankstown they had just stared training Garuda Airline guys from Indonesia. Long story short with three active runways at Bankstown and at least 15 plus aircraft in the circuit (yes true back then) and Sydney Mascot airport next door it got so bad that I believe they were required to carry an Instructor on solo. Never knew how the passed a Australian Commercial Flight test let alone the written exams. They only had 6 weeks crash course in English before they arrived. Dangerous was an understatement, as was punching into Sydney airspace on many occasions causing problems.

How do they pass a license test specifically at commercial pilot level. Is a English level test required? As in say the Australian visa system.

Must have been written by a Lawyer wanting some work.

Sweden - Rotax requires 30 minutes of emergency battery, to run the engine and basic avionics (if the generators fail).

Well, I'd have the same question about that aircraft - if VH registered, could/would the MTOW be 700kg?

I think so

Same I think for the sling 2, RAA here 600kg MTOW in South Africa where they are made 700kg - same aircraft.

Don't you love the system these days - as RAA give you what you already know BUT not an answer on how to fix it at the same time, wasting more time on both ends. Typical of most semi government process.

Being careful about your fluid input (particularly diuretics like tea) before a cross country is a good strategy.

I usually carry water on a long trip - only partake when I know we are about 20-30 minutes out from a landing.

So far so good never been desperate - can usually make it round the back of the hanger/toilet block without rushing.

Your not trying of flying far enough if that's the case!

Input vs Output over time in air?

How do you guys cope on long flights these days. Some of us are older these days and do need to GO!

I have on a few occasions on flights in RAA aircraft dropped down into a grass strip I found on track unannounced, and no one around which is usually a private farmer type strip, and used a tree to relieve the need. Have used a the old plastic bottle but can be a problem with no autopilot and in turbulence or no bottle.

I saw this Pee Base Kit. anyone used one - or what have been the members "solutions" on long flights and the need to GO has overcome the will to not!

WHATS YOUR BEST STORY (SOLUTION) WHEN THE NEED TO PEE WAS TO GREAT AND AIRBOURNE IN OUR TOYS.

However here is the - XCPee Base Kit

https://xcmag.com/shop/product/xcpee-base-kit/?v=6cc98ba2045f

SSCBD..I flew my first Thruster at a Mangalore Airshow. Those airmarshills were notorious for being PITA's. Only allowed 300 ft. How could THAT be dangerous?. Well that was the theory anyhow behind the height limit.. It was actually more dangerous. What year are we talking about? I know they were the first two seaters. Nev

The good old days of flying below 300 feet. So much fun and now you need a special rating - Really a joke in rag wing aircraft.

However

Nev - Don't remember the year due Alzheimer's must be setting in. However she was the first one we did all the test flying for the now CASA - the thruster Gemini was serial number 001. That's the one I flew and got grounded at Mangalore with the high winds.

However, it was in that same year we got first approval or certification of the two set Gemini and to train students with a flying school that was based at Wilton drop zone.

Note* I did the flight testing for the two seat Gemini with a parachute on during dive testing past VNE. Funny thing was the nose cone went pop loudly and you got a dimple in the center of it when you got past the VNE. Scared the hell out of me as I thought the sound of the thruster breaking up.

Also it looped well or was that a dream!

Mangalore air show back in the day - first time the thruster two seat Gemini was flown in public before actual two seat approval to carry pax. - I got grounded by air marshals for taking off vertically and landing vertically. They said it looked to dangerous in the windy conditions. In fact is was very smooth air.

And so much fun.

Only for work or valid reason etc you need a pass issued by qld government to cross boarder. Know your flying in. However still could get done.

SYDNEY/MONTREAL/SEOUL (Reuters) - Mark, 34, quit his job as a town planner in London last year to start flight-training school, buoyed by a conditional offer of employment with budget carrier easyJet at a time when the airline industry was desperately short of pilots. The coronavirus pandemic has changed all that, with carriers furloughing pilots by the thousands and airlines including easyJet, Delta Air Lines Inc and Germany's Lufthansa forecasting they will be smaller for years until demand fully returns.

"It is like almost an entire career pulled from under your feet," said Mark, who declined to provide his last name due to concerns about his future prospects.

He had expected to complete his 109,000 pound ($136,000), 18-month training programme in December but now faces uncertainty over the timing due to lockdowns.

He remains in the dark about whether easyJet will still need new pilots when he completes his training or if he will be forced to look at other airlines or return to his old career.

An easyJet spokeswoman said the airline had instigated a recruitment freeze due to the pandemic impact which reduced the need for new pilots.

"We are continuing to review our pipeline of those cadet pilots set to join easyJet in the coming months and as soon as the situation changes we plan to prioritise roles for them," she said.

The crisis marks a sharp reversal from recent years when some airlines had been paying sign-on bonuses of $25,000 to $30,000 to lure pilots, said Andre Allard, president of Montreal-based aviation sector recruitment agency AeroPersonnel.

"We used to run after the candidates," he said. "Now they are running after us."

Two years ago, some regional airlines grounded planes for lack of pilots and carriers such as Emirates and Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd struggled to fully utilise their jets because of training bottlenecks.

Now Qantas has shelved plans to open a second pilot training school due to the coronavirus, which has led it to ground the bulk of its fleet and place staff on unpaid leave. Major U.S. airlines have frozen pilot hiring.

The previous boom in pilot training could turn into a bust for schools that invested to accommodate more students.

Thierry Dugrippe, head of Canadian pilot training school Air Richelieu, said he expects a decline in enrolment of 30% to 40%.

He said students about to complete the 20-month commercial line pilot training program, which costs C$85,000 ($61,000), are looking at what to do next.

"They are asking a lot of questions," Dugrippe said.

Training provider CAE Inc said two cadet programmes at its Phoenix flight school were suspended at the request of unnamed sponsor airlines due to coronavirus-related travel restrictions.

TOUGH MARKET

In Seoul, a pilot in his 20s who had been hired as a trainee at budget carrier Eastar Jet had his contract cancelled on April 1, alongside around 80 colleagues.

The pilot, who declined to be named because he was concerned about getting a job in the future, paid 150 million won ($124,000) to gain his license at a U.S. flying school, lured by the global pilot shortage.

"A lot of people quit their jobs and headed to aviation schools abroad to get pilot licenses, because carriers were actively recruiting pilots at that time," he said.

Eastar said it cancelled the contracts of around 80 trainees due to deteriorating financial conditions.

Mark, the easyJet trainee, said one of his hopes was that some pilots would take early retirement due to the downturn, leaving openings for new hires when demand returns.

In the United States, up to 5,000 pilots a year could retire in the next few years, according to Kit Darby, an aviation consultant and former pilot.

U.S. pilot hiring could begin again in two to three years due to those retirements, he said, but that makes it a tough market for pilots finishing their training earlier.

Danny Lynch, 36, who had previously worked in digital marketing, finishes a 99,000 pound, 18-month flight training course in Oxford in mid-2021 and is banking on a quicker recovery.

"I certainly hope that by then, the market has improved," he said.

Those due to finish training earlier, like Lauren, a trainee in her 30s at a British flight school, are busy coming up with contingency plans.

Lauren, who declined to provide her last name, does not yet know when she will complete her course which was paused during lockdowns, nor whether airlines will be hiring at the end of it.

For her, options if a commercial pilot job is not immediately available could include returning to her old corporate career and flying small planes as a hobby on the side.

"I'm very lucky because I do have a former career to fall back on," Lauren said. "I have just got to come up with contingency plans A, B, C, D."

($1 = 0.8017 pounds, 1.3875 Canadian dollars, 1,210.7100 won)

Personel choice, I don't trust the Govt so pass!

But the NSA in USA and to some extent google know exactly where you are and who you are talking to - So whats the diffrence

COVID-19 hasn`t stopped me flying and no one has tried to stop me either, I only fly solo, though...I went flying again this afternoon.

 

Franco.

BASTARD

Not have a go at any one - just looking at the reality (in the new world) for commercial pilots. And other staff leaving the aviation sector. Including commercial flying schools and students that have started their courses. (will they close and students have lost the fees they paid?

So - How many Aussie Commercial Pilots will be out of work and the industry by Xmas 2020 AND also do you think RAA will get a rush of members and RAA instructors.

Anyone lowering or are you increasing MTOW?

Or are some playing Master Chef at home?