alf jessup

We are not allowed to fly in the dark no matter what instrumentation we have fitted.

100% pilot error on this one if it such, damn shame he took someone with him, worse still for the husband piloting the other plane losing his wife in this totally avoidable crash.

Yes the pilot never intended killing himself nor his passenger that day I know, but he did and we can’t take it back.

None of us are immune to this as we are all human and humans make grave mistakes at times.

Learn from it.

 Yes, I don't fly in them. Never have and probably never will.. Nev (er).

 

I’m with you Nev.

Would rather walk than sit my @ss in a Robbo of any type.

Rotax recommend BOTH waterless and glycol types. It is up to the maintainer/user to decide which one they opt for.

 

All I have done is ask the question why use waterless, when glycol types, seems to me, to be a better option, in the ways I have listed.

I wasn’t in any way having a crack at you, I was just giving my opinion on the subject.

I have been using Evans for the past 15 odd years when Rotax recommended it as the Coolant to use.

I find all this crap with engine makers painful.

One minute glycol mix one minute Evans.

Way I see it the manufacturer goes with whoever will pay them the most.

Evans does have one advantage I have found.

It raised the temp of my coolant about 25 deg.

My Sierra never got above 65 deg most times which in turn kept the oil cooler which in Rotax’s case didn’t run at the recommended 90 deg oil temp.

Using the Evans I sit in winter between 85-90 on the coolant temp and Oil temp depending on power setting between 80-90.

If it ain’t broke I aint fixing it, they recommended it years back and I changed to it, I liked the benefits I gained the some years later oh no you must use this because this company is paying us more than Evans. ( well that’s what it feels like)

I wish some more pilots knew how to use the propulsion system properly ! Which I happen to use and like !

Well unfortunately they are not gliders and just float around on thermals.

Pretty sure it said they took off from Moorabbin under their own steam.

Guess they could have forgotten to get fuel, then again they might have been going to play golf and arrive in style but duffed the landing.

Yep your right Coop’s I can’t really correct you if your wrong as I’m only surmising, guess we will have to wait and see in the RAA incident database when they update it.

(All said with tongue in cheek)

So sad, most dangerous place is the circuit while flying imo.

Condolences to the families of the lost ones

Another Jabiru airframe put to the test by the looks of it.

Well done Jab you built a great airframe, shame about the propulsion system, wish it was as robust.

By RAA do you mean recreational flying in general as at least one trike fatality was HGFA registered

Hi all

Just looking through the Aviation-Safety.net site which covers most aviation accidents/incidents world wide and searched just the Australian fatal accidents for 2018 & thus far in to 2019.

2018 we lost 20 people just like you and me.

GA accounted for 5

RAA accounted for 4

Gyro’s accounted for 4, 2 from a mast failure & 1 from low flying hitting a harvester & the other unknown.

Helicopters accounted for 5

Gliders 1

& Trikes 1 (unknown)

2019 thus far 11

GA 5

RAA 1 (mustering)

Gyro’s 3 ( 2 from mast failure while aircraft brand was grounded and pilots new better than manufacturer & 1 from low flying ferry flight catching a wire across a river)

Helicopters 1

Gliders 0

Trikes 1 (passenger) low flying in to a lake).

As you can see recreational type flying accounted for 5 needless deaths (not counting RAA mustering) from the start of 2018 up until now, 3 from low flying cowboy activities and 2 fatalities were from an owner thinking he knew better than the manufacturer and the authorities, both were pilots that knew the brand was grounded.

RAA has faired pretty well in those stats compared to Gyros & trikes as reading the reports didn’t seem to dictate low flying activities that contributed to our fatalities we had other than the mustering one which I haven’t counted as a cowboy activity. So well done!!!!

If you wish to read the causes of any of the 31 fatalities or any of the incidents that have happened in Australia from the dawn of aviation just go to the Aviation-Safety.net site and see for yourself.

Just a bit of useless information above for some and a valuable tool maybe for others like me that like to learn and try to continue to survive doing what we love, I am only human just like you and any of us are capable of it, many think it always happens to someone else.

Remember one thing, your surname can change to that someone else in the blink of an eye when you decide to do something you know you shouldn’t really be doing.

Take care and keep a fair bit of air between you and the trees, as it’s not only tigers down there, there are things that can trip you up, actually there are a lot of things down there that can kill you when you least expect it.

Cheers Alf

It is a daily ritual Ian.

A terrific site and yes I contribute to it quite often in tell us about your last flight, incidents and accidents and quite a few others on your terrific site, still sad to see quite a number of contributors on here have since passed, some through stupid risk taking activities and some through bad judgment and bad luck.

Yes I may be vocal at times and straight to the point regarding some accidents, but I’m a realist and sometimes you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to work out how they met their maker, I am with you all the way to try to help people survive the sport and passion we have for aviation.

Keep up the great work as hard at it is.

do we know why was a Tiger flying that low?

Great story John,

Thank you very much for sharing it with us all.

I've spent a lot of time in this area. Eildon is still low, snow melt doesn't start for about two months, but will be different to the date this google map was based on.

 

The hills around Eildon can be very rugged. A couple a hunter broke his ankle. He was well over-weight and rescuers couldn't carry him up the steep slopes so they called up a helicopter. Somehow he slipped out of the harness on his way up and dropped to his death, so it's not a place to be flying. A few years ago a Cherokee hit power lines killing all on board in the straight marked Goulburn, despite the long blaze going out to the right which you'd think blind Freddie could see. In this case, with the water down paddocks below Goughs Bay may have been exposed, but from the reports this pilot didn't even make the shore. Looks like this will be a good case for a manslaughter charge based on flying below 500 feet.

Yep recon you are right, manslaughter charges coming right up, not to mention a division possibly happening within the family, don’t think the witness who stated they saw the pilot grinning while flying low towards the water would be making it up.

All good fun to some until it turns to sh!t, you reap what you sow pilot, you live with the consequences of your action buddy and take what is coming to you and yes, give up flying, you are definitely not a pilot in anyway IMO.

Harsh from me , yes but an innocent life has been taken from seeming reckless stupidity, even though the pilot didn’t mean it, it is done and you can’t take it back.

Multiple witness saw it flying low over and around the water for quite awhile.

I feel for all involved in the loss of this young lady.

Very sad outcome.

 

Reporting steadfastly has it as a fixed wing but it clearly isn’t. It’s HGFA registered so over to the coroner and police with assistance from HGFA.

 

And frankly that’s a very low speed impact from the looks of the ‘wreckage’. The spat’s are not even off the wheels and compared to the Qantum 912 that came out of the English Channel about 10 years ago from a full stall entry to the water after fuel exhaustion that airborne airframe is in remarkably intact condition.

 

It will be interesting to watch for the reports on cause.

Doesn’t look like an Airborne Trike to me, looks more like a Pegasus or a P&m trike, twin mufflers and the radiator set up doesn’t look Aitborne.

Yeah, report I heard has witnesses saying it was flying for an hour and at heights of 20m

 

In my inexperience it sounds like the pilot wasn't flying according to the rules/standards. First thought was Eildon isn't that wide, surely If you were at height, easily could glide to the paddocks on the side

Another one bites the dust needlessly and taking an innocent out in the process.

Not good.

But as others say let us not speculate and wait for the report pffft, be waiting a long time if not forever.

In others we trust and put our life on the line for, but in the end we are all human and trusting, and hoping that these others lookout for your best interests.

I feel for this pilot as he went above and beyond what was required for the flight, only to be let down by someone else not doing properly what he was paid to do.

How many out there would have questioned the maintence done?

I probably wouldn’t have.

Report was he was leaving Timber Creek for Stapleton, caught a wire crossing the river about 5 kms out of Timber Creek. apparently the power went out at Timber Creek not long after he departed the airstrip and when he failed to arrive at his destination they started searching the proposed route he was taking.

Found him eventually a few days later, rumour was that the police were waiting for a croc cage for a few days so the diver could finally retrieve him.

Such a waste of life and another power line accident that should not have happened, Hazards and temptation always catch the unsuspecting out at times.

Condolences to all the family and friends.

Information I have passed on come from a work mate up here in the NT where I am currently working who’s wife is managing a medical clinic currently at Timber Creek.

Yesterday I flew the coastal route between Loch Sport and McGauran Beach . The East Sale airspace was active at the time and traffic, both ways, limited to 1000’amsl. I transited at 800’ to ensure minimal interference with the frequent large helicopter traffic between the offshore rigs and Longford base, particularly between Paradise Beach and Seaspray. A proper lookout is essential at all times, and another set of eyes desirable. Close attention to the CTAF frequency 129.75 requires being ahead of the aircraft, even moreso than usual with minimal distraction . There is no recommended separation, either vertically or laterally, so most traffic will also be between 700’-1000’. Here are some pics from the journey....... Bob

 

- Tracking West along the beach at 800’

 

- Overflying Loch Sport on the way home, with Lake Victoria (L) and the mostly dry Lake Reeve ® . Further R Bass Strait.

 

- On approach to 04 Bairnsdale (YBNS)

Ahhh Bob,

The joys for some who can transit through ESL airspace without a care in the world while some cannot even get off the ground from West Sale in the same parcel of airspace that has a huge boundary.

It’s lovely to look out and see others transiting through the D353 and the coastal route while bureaucratic BS keeps us grounded at YWSL.

I envy you all that can travel through the same parcel of air at anytime that I cannot get off the ground too also enjoy.

RAA still hasn’t offered us a 2/7th discount on our membership and aircraft registration for us that can only fly on a weekends (2 days out of 7) while others in our organisation can fly as free as a bird everyday of the week.

I can go get a RPL I guess for about $5 grand for all of 7 minutes to go out on the Princes route GA lane to get out of the airspace.

Then again I can always relocate to Bairnsdale lol, any decent hangar space up that way that the birds won’t shat all over my plane lol.

It’s all Good Bob

( not in anyway having a shot at you, just having a gripe over the RAAF, RAA and CASA & the local council for their fair and equal treatment (NOT) of people based on a council owned public airport that funnily enough has just had major works done to extend the runway and bitumen seal it as the RAAF don’t like spray seal as it’s hard on their tyres on the new PC21 aircraft.

Might see you at the Monthly meeting Sunday.

Cheers Alf

Flew from West Sale to Ayers Rock and back mid last year, my plane never had a drop of Avgas ever in it up until then, filled with 95 octane unleaded at West Sale then Avgas for the remainder of the trip, 27 hrs on Avgas and not one issue, plugs were even clean when o changed the oil when I got back.

only difference was the price of the stuff, other than that it ran perfectly fine.

Yep a mountain got in the way in the dark.

very unfortunate that two more fellow aviators are no longer with us

Gearbox could very well need overhaul.

Once the yoke drive gets a bit of wear you will get vibration.

About $1700 from Floods including labour if you take the gearbox off and take it too them, takes about 2 hrs to do.

Found a farmers Ag strip 5km west of Traralga and he is happy for me to use it.

about 1000m in length and nice and wide.

actually in bloody good nick and smooth

Well this father & son paid the ultimate price for thinking they knew better with the grounding in place.

Humans are the one thing that can make stupid decisions and very costly ones at that.

Such a waste of life that should not have been.

I usually burp mine after shut down for the day as the oil is hot and flows easier back to the can, then just check it before next flight, been doing it this way for the last 1500 odd hours behind a Rotax and never have had an issue.

Also after shutdown I open the cowls to let the latent heat dissipate and not bake my ignition modules , this is while I fill out the paperwork, log book, wipe the bugs off and put the cover on, just a few quirky things we probably all do a bit different.