skydog

What choice?

Mark

What plane did you see at Narrowmine that you liked?(assuming you made it in the bad weather)

Slarti, a big contributor to this site likes and owns a Cheetah and I must say they do look the part.

My only suggestion is to slow down, take your time over choosing a plane and really understand exactly what your current and future needs are, then what type of cockpit and controls you like (eg, stick vs wheel, centre stick?, right hand stick, whatever makes you comfortable)

Lots of other issues too such as vision, cost, baggage allowed, seating comfort, engine preference, like Jab vs Rotax.

No need to rush and buy only to discover a nicer aircraft a few months later.

Took me 5 years to make up my mind!!!

HAVE FUN IN THE PROCESS

Good stuff

Well done Biljim.

You wont regret a moment of it.

Did you go to Narrowmine the Mecca of ultralighting in the land of OZ?

any more?

Any more on this?

Good stuff

Well done Travis

What sort of plane do you want to buy?

RA Aus can be cheap but!

Hi I started flying in a Gazelle and Jabs then converted to PPL and enjoy flying both especially the ability to fly in CTA.

Definitely is cheaper to learn to fly via RA then convert to GA . Check out time for me on a Piper Warrior was 2 hours then took another 5 hours to do my XC time. The PPL flight test was 3 hours.

Hardest part for a old slow dummy like me was the online exam for whichI just scraped thru at 81%.Info just doesnt stick in the cranium like it used to.

I reckon my all up cost was about the numbers Relfy has worked out, one factor though worthy of notice to those starting out flying and this will bring a reaction I am sure from JAB enthusiasts, is that learning to fly and land a Jabiru is harder than most ultra-light and single engine common aircraft so it can take some students 20 plus hours to go solo!! Thats lot of money before progressing to the next lesson..

Dare I say lots of schools that have Jabs like this factor as it brings good income to instructors however let me temper this by saying learning to master a jab makes you a far better pilot as the likes of C172`s and Pipers are a pussy to land compared to a Jab.

I generally recommend that people on a budget learn to fly in a Gazelle, Tecnam, or similar then convert to GA, Jabs etc later to save money.

Yeah nice shots Slarti

What camera and model you shootin?

Oshkosh top of my list

Oshkosh is such an aviators dream experience I have been twice and will go back again for sure. Words can not express how mind blowingly good this event is.

Meet & chat with Red bull Pilot Kirby Chambliss. These guys are mad!!!!

Did not meet but attended a lecture with Burt Rutan. What an aviation hero and legend from the Vari-eze and Long eze designs that first lured me into light aviation, to Space ship one design and achievements , simply marvellous inspirational stuff.

Being allowed on the flight deck of a 747 for 2 hours as we flew in for a dawn landing at Melbourne. Cant do that these days but the landing from 30` above the tarmac was weird and wonderful red sunrise. A great insight into commercial aviation and how it all works communication, planning and instrument wise.

Great atmosphere at Tooradin.

All good replies and no doubt you have made up your mind.

Every flying hour is a great experience and you always learn something extra & valuable.

Different aircraft gives extra confidence so sure it may take an hour or two to get the hang of the panel and flight characteristics but the fact is more flying hours gives you more experience, confidence, self esteem, and always good to fly at different strips as they are different. Sort of refreshing like playing golf on another course other than your club course. Makes you a better golfer than just getting to know your home turf.

very helpful

I have never had a motel or B&B owner refuse to come pick me up from a nearby strip.

Usually its a novelty for them and they like to tell there mates about it.The key is the strip should not be too far out of town say no more than 15 mins.

Same goes for them letting you use their computers to check weather log a FP etc they think its part of giving good service.

Chardonnay Lodge, Coonawarra, Brown Bros Milawa(you can walk that one)

Riverside Motel Corowa.

All friendly.

seems logical

Seems logical enough and is the cost of getting to work I suppose but "commerce" is still at play here , ie money transacted.

Maybe it too is subject to being commercial hire.

I better go look up the CAO`s, hate those things, very hard to findthe right section.

Give them the flick or go wireless

The buggers.

Thats the trouble with monopoly`s so I am glad to hear about the new Government initiatives for broadband.

Your case is a good one to go laptop wireless on 3G. Costs a bit more but good for pilots as you can log on anywhere and submit a flight plan, get weather, get & send email etc.

At home just plug the laptop into a big screen and keyboard for convenience sake..

read up

Read Lots of good articles about buying on many aviation websites and its a damn good idea to do so. (Plane & Pilot mag for one)

Get to know the type you want real well beforehand and all its AD`s etc have they been done?.

Always buy subject to check out by a LAME or type 2.

Very Good time to buy at the moment but bargains are rarely so.

Check if money is owed on it.

Check fly in it for sure and check engine temperatures if possible oli temps and if hours and engine times match.

Dont get carried away, be logical and make a list and cross it off as you go.

Good luck and enjoy.

cloud height?

Hmmn, consensus seems to be arrive Thursday Friday with an early departure on Saturday for the Northern dwellers and later for the Mexicans.

Rain is one thing that may possibly be waited on or dodged, showers another but low cloud ! thats definitely a real problem thing.I get nervous flying for long hours at below 1000AGL in poor VIS & shower activity.

LETS HOPE THE CLOUD BASE IS HIGH, RAIN IN-FREQUENT AND SHOWERS SCATTERED.

sexy

Slarti

There is no doubt your Morgan is the sexiest plane in the Ultralight range.

Nice picie of the windsock.THOUGHT i WOULD KEEP THE THEME GOING

I like to support the local organisations like Lions etc who do drinks, burgers, etc.

Coffee and biscuits during the day at the aero club... and .oh yeah....Nice desserts for dinner.

Nicest dessert of all?... a few beers with like minded pilots raving on about their close calls, aviation fantasies, performance data on any aircraft and CASA.

Sorry i am late

Sorry to come in late on this thread but that cruiser looks veeeery nice and on looks alone is a winner.

Specs from the web read well and its a good idea to google for flight reviews on aircraft to get a handle on how they may fly.

Support (if you buy one ) may be a bit thin though considering the lack of planes in Oz.

I would go for the cruiser though.

All good ideas

All ideas posted sound sensible to me however paint is expensive to change and I am lucky to have "Scandinavian" colours on the RV.(Avian, get it?)

You can get a pair of strobes from the states for about 450 bucks including the power packs off any pilot supply co and they retro-fit into existing nav light areas with reasonable ease on GA planes.

Most accidents occur in the circuit so I think strobes and landing lights help a lot and can be seen.

Best to have an avoidance system as well but I cant afford it.

Just for fun my flying partner put some red on the RV in paintshop.It does stand out a lot more,must admit.

canon 5D

5d, on black and white setting gives rather nice exposed shots too

let RA-AUS KNOW

Tomo

I am sure if you let the RA-AUS office know they will be able to help out or advise clubs etc of your desire.

You can fly REX to Dubbo then catch a cab if it all falls thru.

Show was not so good

I agree it was a little disappointing but always something nice to see at an airshow.

Wouldn`t miss it for quids.

stats

Once or twice a year the magazine publishes incident stats which are fascinating looking at the aircraft types and types of incidents like running out of fuel etc.

Also looks at deaths comparing them to previous years.

The info in the mag is probably a good vehicle for RA Aus to advertise as it gets to a wide audience.

I`ve done it

I have taken risks, stupid risks, calculated risks, and have gotten away with it.

My flying risks have been when pressured by third parties or outside influences when I should have known better but took no heed.

Possibly one day I will not be taking a risk flying and not get away with it.

Fortunately when I have taken risks and had a close, uncomfortable mind numbing bad experience it has changed by attitude and behaviour so I dont repeat that again. Like Ozzie I have done many hundreds of Skydives and some might say that is risky. Well maybe life is all just a calculated risk and when your number is up it is up. Just would be unfortunate to take some other innocent party out at the same time.

The most dangerous part of your life for survival is the journey down the tubes to the womb!

The outback

I want to fly the "outback". Put the fold up bike and tent in the back and away we go to who knows where the weather, curiosity and Gods will take us?

The idea of a warm clear day, a cold beer at night, a beautiful scene to ponder over and other people to chat to is all we really need don`t you think?

rain affected airshow

Shame about the weather today (Saturday) We dont want anything in aviation to be a failure during these tough times. Need more people to get excited and learn to fly.