alf jessup

Just proves even the pro's are human and don't always get it right, nice to be a mere mortal isn't it, only difference is they can bang it up for no financial loss to them but only to the taxpayers.

My Sierra has hand brake set up also, have found no issues with it and far easier to operate than the Jab 160 hand brake system which I learnt in.

Its not that we can't have zero Sue its just we won't as the law of averages show us that every year. Can we cut the fatality rate I think we can but only if everyone is on board and fly's as safe as they possibly can and don't take unnecessary risks, no beat ups, not pushing on, no kick the tyres and light the fires attitude. Alf

Lets be serious, as long as human and machinery work together there will be deaths, we can strive all we like to reduce the road toll to zero but that will never happen and that is the same for aviation and anything else in the modern mechanical world. Humans are human and make some costly mistakes, you cannot control how other humans think or the decisions they make. You are in control of your own destiny only and I guess it all depends on how much you value living, every accident (crash) has some form of human input to make it happen whether it be mechanical, medical, poor judgment, impatience, get there-itis and the list goes on & on. Sad fact with aviation as great as it is it is very harsh on mistakes made, many get away with it for years, many push there luck & have gotten away with it but many haven't. As defensive as I drive & as disciplined as I fly I still realise that it CAN happen to me, I just try to minimise the risks on the roads & in the air as I am not perfect as none of us are, when flying as much as a hack as I am I try to strive for perfection every time I leave the ground until I am back on the ground & in the hangar. If your every reading about me on this forum in a bad or sad way means I messed up in some way shape or form, and guess what I'm only human like the rest of you so the sooner we all realise that it doesn't always happen to someone else the better we all might be. Alf

RAA Tubs? only accidents I heard of over the weekend was the Robbo in Qld and the PPC I must be slipping if there were others

Well Shafs to me that is a great weekend, lets hope the next 1000 weekends the same. Somehow I feel I am way optimistic on that wish list. Alf

I thought there was one awhile back in OZ where a bloke hit a garage door but I may well be wrong. Condolences to all family & friends Alf

Thanks Andy for putting your hand up and representing the members on the board of the RAA, yes there are plenty out there that you will never please, but it is people like yourself who sacrifice time & money for others that people like us appreciate more than you could ever imagine. I am sorry to hear about your redundancy and the family will always come first & we all fully understand why you resigned. Good luck with the job hunting as I am sure someone with such good morals will be an asset to any company. Thanks again for your effort representing us. Cheers Alf

Birdseye, That accounts for every city in my books not just the succession of roundabouts they call Canberra.

Condolences to the family & friends of this latest pilot & fellow brother of the skies. Fly as safe as you possibly can fellow brothers of the air.

Obviously as humans we never learn from others mistakes as we keep on doing it, maybe we believe it won't happen to us as it only happens to someone else. Not a good way to think is it.

Can't always blame the instructors, they teach the pilot skills to survive during the training phase to licence test, if you don't practice when out on you own its your fault entirely when it goes pear shaped. I bet there are plenty of pilots both GA, RAA & HGFA out there that just sit there fat dumb and happy when flying around from there last BFR to the next. We as pilots are in control of our own destiny, practice may not always save you but it will give you a better chance when things go pear shaped. Alf

They got bolt on's, nothing flash about those, have the planes any day, planes got many advantages over them. 1/ I could take them to greater heights in the plane than I could with them. 2/ Plane has far more endurance that I would have so I would get much more pleasure & time out of it. 3/ I can park the plane in a hangar and not have to talk to it for a week. 4/ I could ride in plane anytime i wanted to play with it and it wouldn't knock me back. 5/ I 'd want to go to the plane after my 10 minutes with them in any case 6/ Its an overrated pastime as you get older but flying isn't Yep, I want the plane, only use for the bolt on airbags they got is for cushioning in a stack. Alf

G'day Aldo, I work contract for a great company called Drillsearch, been with them coming up 3 years almost doing field services OCR role, started off as HSE advisor for 8 months then promoted me, job consists of scouting & pegging new lease areas, cultural heritage clearing, building leases & road access for the rigs, supervising water drillers when we have them ect, and anything else that needs doing, very quiet up here at the moment as only me and my back to back are left looking after the infrastructure we have in place, shut our camp down last trip hence why I am staying at the Homestay in Innamincka for a while. Cooper basin has copped a flogging since Christmas with all companies up here shedding a lot of workers during this downturn, people may be pleased fuel is a bit cheaper but it has cost a lot of people their livelihood. Been in the oil & gas industry myself for 20+ years, mostly in Bass Strait on drilling rigs, did a stint as a safety manager onshore in India for 5 months and a stint in NZ over that time, this is the best job of the lot I have had in the industry, love coming to work so I hope it keeps going and starts ramping up again. Cheers Alf

Well the Tecnam is designed to run on premium unleaded 95 RON minimum, (100hp Rotax) but can be run on avgas as long as you change the oil more regular. I was in NZ last time off 2weeks ago and standard unleaded there was between $1.88 to $2.00 a litre so I would hate to see what premium unleaded and avgas costs. Alf

Hi All, Just letting you know I am currently based out of Innamincka while on my 3 week stints at work as our camp has been shut down. Should be here until Christmas at least unless my company face more cuts and I end up on the chopping block. I work 3 weeks on and 3 weeks off so if anyone is passing through let me know so I can work out if i will be here as it would be a nice way to catch up with fellow flyers if they are out exploring our great land. Cheers Alf

Adam, Not sure where Rick got the 120 kt cruise from, mine was 544 kg until I upgraded it to 600kg. At 544 kg the top of green on the ASI was 115 kts and then went in to the yellow arc after that and the VNE was 154 kts, with the 600 kg upgrade the top of green came back to 110 kts & the VNE to 136 kts with the increased weight. Don't get me wrong it will do 120 kts easy straight and level at about 22 lph but your flying in the early stages of the yellow arc which is not my cup of tea. I usually poke around between 95 & 105 with a fuel burn of between 15lph & 19 lph depending on which speed I fly at. And yes they are a beautifully built aircraft. Cheers Alf

Recflyer, What do I think? Ricks on a winner I got one of them also, love it, beautiful flying qualities, sleek, smooth looks as good as it fly's

Phil, I fly the ninety mile beach often, I have seen a little grass strip near Woodside that runs parallel to the beach but its only short, the other strips associated along the ninety mile are Yarram, (Kalimna & great Lakes) at Lakes Entrance, Orbost (Marlo) which is about 600m in from the beach & Mallacoota, other than that well if there is more I am going blind. Alf

Bruce If it is the one I am thinking of it was at Porepunkah I think many years back I'm sure I heard the activation handle wad fitted to the control bar and when he pushed out to take off it activated the chute I think it was a spring loaded one not the rocket fired type but don't quote me on this

Well microman Just by maintaining your aircraft properly and having a reliable engine isn't going to keep you alive Having the right approach, attitude, respect & discipline towards flying will keep you alive far longer than any engine will

Marty-d, I'd say that is because it is a Cirrus and because your paying upwards of 1/2 a million for the plane, obviously they would have some take on the costing of removal & installation, likewise as you say my chute I had on the trike was $6,300 all up. I for one will not ridicule you for installing one as I think they are a wise choice for a 2nd chance at life, you will as I did most likely go through your flying career never going near that red handle, but it is there if the unforseen comes out to bite at you and if it saves you just once it is better than not having that option at your disposal. Each to their own mate, I'm a believer even though I don't have one on my Tecnam currently. Alf

I think the pilots who consistently fly smart and safe, do thorough preflight and fly disciplined just keep doing what your doing All all others who don't how about you start as it can and does happen to not only someone else That might keep the fatal accidents to a minimum There is a risk in every day life so to survive a life time requires a minimal exposure & some luck We all end up dead in the end but some sooner than they expected by their own choice of actions

Airborne trikes are no less safer than any of the overseas exotic trikes we can aquire these days The pilot is the weakest link most times in the chain of events that lead to fatals Not much can be done on medical incapacitation but a lot can be done on pilots attitudes to change the trend we are seeing Time will tell on his last one and hopefully we will get enough information fed back to us over time on the cause, whether it be a medical event, a structural event or just another pilot who got it wrong

Condolences to the family & friends of this recent loss. Sounds like Rob was experienced & well respected in the Aviation community RIP fellow aviator & brother of the skies