Riley

Thanks Ozzie for a very interesting and informative review of how things were 3 decades back (were we really all that presumptuous and cavalier then?) My 'almost' Lazair encounter was during a visit to Canada on a farm paddock at failing last light (with a young shirt-tail relation that I previously didn't know even existed) that other rellies had decided 'oh, your interested in flying - Greg will take you up tomorrow after milking'. I gotta confess that I was relieved that weather intervened. The amount of uncontrolled water in the Eagle's floats really smacks me - I recall having to pump out the J3 Piper Cub's floats (and it with a powerful 65 hp Continental - not a chainsaw engine!) before every flight just to get off the water. Guess I've become a bit of a nancy in my advanced years. Tks again for the very interesting bit of 'minimum' history. (but, as much as they may need/deserve it, ya can't shoot people for past sins so Markey lives on and I still reckon yer mad!) cheers

Ozzie. Any chance you might have any footage of an Eagle flying off floats? That's so bizarre it's fascinating, especially considering more than 22 kg of unbaffled water sloshing around in the floats. I'm aware that you still go skywards in your Lazair but, if you looked back and knowing what you know now, would you bet your fundamental orifice against a weight-shift, wing-warp, water-logged, just-barely-flying machine of that ilk (call it an Eagle) again? I once fronted up for a Lazair demo flight in Canada many years ago but it was cancelled just prior to take-off because of unfavourable winds (and I wasn't disappointed!) Thanks for the 8mm history. cheers

Let me predict that within 6 to 8 months time, anybody with a question regarding Jab's historical engine shortcomings are all gonna smack themselves in the forehead with a brickie's hammer and exclaim "never mind the factory, why didn't I see that!" It's a proven airframe, all of the engine variations have the potential to be equally as good as the fuse and soon hopefully, there won't be a surfeit of low-priced Jab's on the market. I'd bare my ass in front of the GPO at high noon on any Friday if this doesn't happen. (On reflection, perhaps I should start arranging a Canadian re-entry visa just in case?). cheers

Andy. I've stated previously and I re-iterate, the executive board obviously exist in an unsustainable bubble. Ultimately Mr Reid will revert to devoting all of his time and efforts towards being a CFI at a FTF on the southern half of the country (and on behalf of his present and future students I hope he has more success as a trainer than he's shown as an administrator and, without reservation, for the sake of the recreational aviation community's wellbeing, the sooner it happens the better). Shortly put Eugene, please go home because - like the tomcat said after humping the Tassie Devil, "I've enjoyed as much of this as I can stand." Were it not so serious it would be absolutely laughable. I'm confidant that when ego-masters and time-expired executive board members are eventually replaced, an effective and operational RAAus will surely evolve from all of this confusion! Riley

I gotta tip me lid to both yourself and the sh#t-stirring TF. Controversial old bastard makes us keep 'up and thinking' on everything by deliberately flaunting the down side. It took a fair while before I stopped being indignant by and started enjoying his 'dark side' comments. (side note - FT, if I've read you wrong - I'm gonna have to kill ya!) cheers

Greetings Fox If you don't already have a dis-interested person (contact, broker, AIM etc) acting on your behalf in the US, you'd be wise to spend a few bucks to arrange same prior to signing up for any serious purchase/rebuild expenses. If needed, get in touch by PM and we can put you unto an inspector in Florida who is personally known to and has done good work re aircraft purchase; repairs and packing for shipment for one of our WA members recently. Good luck with your shopping. cheers Riley

With the referenced news flash on "how good things are getting because of us", RAA board have further increased my awe at the size of the bubble they obviously live in. Codswollop?... bollocks?.... unmitigated crap? ....an insult to each member's intelligence? .... I'm at a loss how best to describe this 'news release' apart from stating that the honourable secretary further demeans his character by putting his name to it and I take great umbrage at being fed rubbish that a village idiot wouldn't accept. If the three amigos and their curious bed partners don't have the good sense to resign at or before the meeting, hopefully concerned members will either have or soon achieve the support necessary to arrange suitable replacements for their inevitable departures (and the sooner, the better). Am extremely dis-appointed at my aircraft being grounded for 3 months now with absolutely no reponse from Canberra and I admit to being even more indignant and hostile with this new & stupid revelation from Fyshwick.

Don't give up that hope Jim. There's a big bunch of us commoners in the swamps who are totally dependant upon you and other 'like minded thinkers' on the Board for continued accesss to our flying freedoms. Salvation won't evolve from the GM two weeks hence and, even with the very best results, the AGM won't get us totally back on track but hopefully, by this time next year, dysfunctional board activity and impeded ability to fly RAA aircraft (to mention few items) will be a bad memory and we'll have a functional group in Canberra effectively managing our Association. In our current circumstances, Don Chipp's immortal statement "Keep the bastards honest" has a lot more import than Malcom's missal - 'Life wasn't meant to be easy". Gavin's ex-supporters are behind you 100%. Hang in and we'll help. cheers Riley

Thanks Suze ... it'll take a bit of 'gnawing' before I work out if I understand the implications but your overview of the numbers is much appreciated. Hopefully explicit queries at the meeting may result in some meaningful answers? (the glass is always half-full and I eternally live in hope). Thanks and cheers.

It gripes me that Gavin's missals include the phrase "My WA members requested that I put the motion...." Let me say that while some WA members may have requested this questionable (under the circumstances) move, certainly not all are supportive of it!! In fact, when canvassed by Gavin in the days prior to it's circulation, myself and at least one other of his former supporters warned him that it could only lead to more charges of attempting to gag the meeting and further muddy the waters. Having bogged on regardless, his subsequent communications should also state that he is not following the wishes of some of his constituents. In the days since his broadcast request for proxys I have spoken to three WA members who responded as requested and who later expressed regret that they weren't aware of the multiple reasons for the petition for the GM by concerned RAA members last Nov. So, for what it's worth, there will be a sizeable content of ignorance in whatever block of proxys are carried by the WA Rep to the meeting. Mind you, the responsibility for that rests with those who were yarded up like sheep assuming all was right in Canberra. Riled up Riley

During the months of June thru Oct this year, wife & self will be touring around Oz (Perth/Bris/ Syd/Mel/Adelaide/Alice/Darwin/Perth) in a fifty-year-old Riley Elf towing a 'flipper' camper trailer (literally & figuratively we'll be the turtle with it's home on it's back, but what the hell, we got lots of time!). The 'raison d'etre' is to visit rellies & friends, participate in a National Riley Rally in the Barossa in Aug and to visit as many interstate airfields/flying clubs/aviation museums/restoration projects etc as possible, both to put faces on names that I've met on this forum and to meet/make new friends. In that regard, I'd be most grateful for advice from fellow forumites as to what may be happening in the swamps and ridges (aviation-wise) around your area at any time during that period so that I can start working on a flight plan......fly-ins, Club days, a local show with aircraft on display, $100 hamburger mornings, monthly meetings etc, anything at all that pertains to low & slow forward levitation. If anything comes to mind over the next couple of months I'd be grateful of your PM'd advice. To my sadness (and the wife's great delight), there isn't room on the top of the camper to carry a folding-wing, single seater...life's a bitch eh? cheers Riley

I would hope/expect that with their feet being held to the fire, there may well be one or two of the Executive dancing!

AR I reckon your post #291 should form part of the source material for application for membership to RAA! Well said.

Perhaps a bit of a drift (forgive me my sins) and I'm certainly not posting the attachment as a suggested resolution to the ongoing situation in Fyshwick. Moreso it definately is not directed as a personal slight towards any of the incumbent State reps who are attempting to bring some degree of logic to the Board but, I reckon in this hour of darkness, a bit of levity can't go amiss and it might help to explain the recent curious actions of some board members who seemed to have so much potential. They ain't all bad - they just haven't worked out why they don't like bananas. Apologies offered for the rambling preamble. PRECISION PSYCHOLOGY If you start with a cage containing five monkeys and inside the cage, hang a banana on a string from the top and then you place a set of stairs under the banana, before long a monkey will go to the stairs and climb toward the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs, you spray all the other monkeys with cold water. After a while another monkey makes an attempt with same result ... all the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water. Pretty soon when another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it. Now, put the cold water away. Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and attempts to climb the stairs. To his shock, all of the other monkeys beat the crap out of him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs he will be assaulted. Next, remove another of the original five monkeys, replacing it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment...... with enthusiasm. Then, replace a third original monkey with a new one, followed by the fourth, then the fifth. Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs he is attacked. Now, the monkeys that are beating him up have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs. Neither do they know why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey. Finally, having replaced all of the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys will have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, not one of the monkeys will try to climb the stairway for the banana. Why, you ask? Because in their minds...that is the way it has always been! This is how political Parties operate... and why, from time to time: ALL of the monkeys need to be REPLACED AT THE SAME TIME.

Ratchet, if that was a rant then continue to rave on. I reckon it should be made compulsory reading for everyone from RAA student pilot to whomsoever replaces our illustrious ex CEO!

Before even reading the text, just the thread title brought a smile to my dial in anticipation. Guess I must be totally beyond redemption. (fortunately I can't remember the intracacies of both events at either end). Good one PD.

A good way to spend a day in pleasant surroundings with a bunch of very hospitable incorrigibles. We dropped in on them for one of their mid-week coffee & B.S. sessions last year during a week-long SouthWest gyro odyssey and were treated like royalty. Would much like a repeat performance but unfortunately have other pre-arranged comittments on the 19th. Best wishes for a good turn-out and for smiles from the weather gods. cheers

Request for viewing of RAAus Membership List Thursday, 3 January, 2013 6:51 PM From: "lee naa shanks" <email address removed> View contact details To: nsw1 @raa.asn.au Atn Paul Middleton, Secretary, RAAus. As is catered for in Sec 67 of the ACT, being a financial full member of RAAus, I formally request that a membership list (current to end Jan 2013), be tabled at the RAAus General Meeting scheduled for 9 Feb, 2013 at the Fyshwick offices. Please acknowledge receipt of this request via return email. RJ Shanks, Member # 014720. Just did it Kaz. We'll see if I do any better with a response from Middo than what I haven't done with any replies from Mr Reid.

I too, have a Chinese wife but alas, I cannot hold her responsible for any of my boorish insensitivities....... but like you said, that's only my opinion.

So, if it hasn't already been done, to counter some of the management subterfuge indicated by what Jim has recently revealed, what is the correct format in advising the Board/Executive that I require a list of current full members be made available at the Feb meeting in Fyshwick ?

Snide, irrelevant and totally unconnected to the thread Jab. Poor form and none of your damn business!

Ozzie, even though I only agree with about 95% of the content of your post #381, I pissed myself at your description of "limp dick RAA". Don't know if it was intentional but your little bit of humour in this depressing thread was quite refreshing. Thanks for the smile. cheers

If it's any consolation FM, you have company in your misery. I too, have been left sitting in the sin bin with a currently registered new (old) aircraft that RAA would "prefer that you don't fly" due to their inability/failure to action the necessary change of ownership (and there are no problems yet identified by them as regards the airworthiness history of the aircraft or the completeness of the dossier). I pulled funds from an income-earning investment to purchase a RAA-registered aircraft that had 320 hrs on a complete professional zero-timed restoration. A squeaky clean transfer-of-ownership file complete with the transfer fee was handed over the counter at Fyshwick offices on 6 Nov, and advice was given that the computor was down and it would be actioned in a couple of days. Now, a couple of months later, the only action that has taken place is that they have cashed my transfer fee cheque! In short, it is costing me more than $44.00 each week for a dead donkey since this incompetance has surfaced and they can't (or won't) tell me how long it will continue! Will RAAus extend my annual registration period to offset the time that I've paid for in advance but have been unable to fly....? Will RAAus re-imburse me for the lost income that would have been earned had I not purchased what they have turned into a 'Hangar Queen'? I don't fancy my chances and certainly haven't had any response to my multiple emails to our illustrious Treasurer requesting his recognition and assurance of same. The sing song from Runciman & Co is 'we inherited this un-expected mess' - irrespective of what little credit they obviously give to member's IQ, I don't think I'm stupid enough to accept that as an answer. And FlyerMe, for you & I it's comparatively small change and personal inconvenience - spare a thought for those shoe-string FTFs who are really getting king hit by this compounded incompetance. I expectorate!!!

OK, I am not wearing the L2 hat. You 'borrow' a wooden 2 blade certified propellor fm anyone, you take photos of the Gr582 with the politically-correct prop fitted, you dot the 'eyes' & cross the "tees' with all the other fiddely audit-inspired and suddenly-necessary bureaucratic requirements and submit to Fyshwick. Once that's accomplished, return the certified prop to your mate, refit the Brolga that's been happily flying the little machine all these years and then polish (but don't fly) your aircraft. When the renewed registration is in your hot little hands you continue to operate your aircraft as normal "but not for hire or reward". Alternatively, you could spend thousands of dollars getting an engineering report stating that the aircraft can safely operate with a 3 blade Brolga or (equally as stupid and distasteful) re-register the kite as a Cat 19 experimental. Disclaimer: I definately did not post any of the preceeding post. My Chinese mother-in-law controls my bank account and I do not spikka da inglish. Welcome to the nanny state. And despite all of the above - best wishes to you and you family for a happy and enjoyable new year. cheers riley