skydog

Great shot Naemick. Not that I am biased! Most unusual angle of my pride and joy the RV6A LDC. I saw Slarti`s Cheetah at Temora that day but not Slarti.

I still have a copy of that movie but its on beta unfortunately. I loved it except for the lovey dovey stuff. Why do they spoil good movies with romance???

Rudi, I have had the priveledge of visiting Sth Africa a few times over the last 10 years and a couple of years ago was lucky to drive from the Cape to the George area. Talk about stunning coastline! No wonder so many people retire there, should be even better from the air.

Basscheffers, They look good. On the RV I use the shades you can buy from the auto shop. They are the dark fine mesh looking ones with suction cups and they do make a big difference.They twist back into a figure 8 for neat packing away. Cheap as chips too & easily removed if required!

Nice, those crazy skydivers!!!!!

Great story and photos Rudi, thanks Motivates me to do the same here in Oz more often. Thats what flying is all about

This has to be the most photographed aircraft on this site. Absolutely lovely design and paint job, worthy of a designer of planets!!

There is an opinion that the nosewheel should be treated as just for taxiing purposes only and even then you should be very wary, avoiding holes, bumps, depressions clods, sods etc. A lot of light aircraft especially RV`s, have delicate nose legs and it is good practise to taxi with the stick all the way back to take load off it. On take off ease the pressure on the front leg by holding the stick right back and easing it slowly forward as speed increases and pressure decreases on the nose until the aircraft flies off the runway. You may have to lower the nose a bit more once airborne depending on the aircraft and engine power. On landing it is wise to keep the nosewheel off the strip to avoid possible damage etc from same holes, clods, sods, objects etc. You can judge the right 'attitude' over the engine cowling by sitting in the pilot seat whilst friends push the tail down so the nose wheel is say 150 to 300mm of the strip. As the aircraft slows down the nose wheel should gently settle down onto the strip and at a much slower and safer speed. You do not want to drop the nose down quickly and thud the wheel down but this is rare for a ULight plane however can be done with cessnas, pipers etc. Their gear is so strong it can take it. You can effect a go round in circuits by not having the nose wheel touch at all retaining normal directional control however as others have said be wary in a powerful plane of torque so use the controls to keep the aircraft straight down the centreline.

NY Aussie Theres an ercoupe, I think the only one flying in Australia, down at Tyabb,[YTYA], airfield about 60km south of Melbourne past Frankston. Its not on line though. You have a choice of airfields not too far from Kinglake, Lilydale as mentioned has great club atmosphere and membership with a wide range of aircraft. Coldstream is 15 minutes further drive south ish not a bad place at all some parachuting ops there. Going west over the Hume you could look at Penfield which is north of Sunbury about 12 km which has RA and GA.

If you doing a long XC and not wanting to land for a pit stop then my duffel bag contains a big bottle with a reasonably large opening?

Spacewalker It worked and a nice shot

Everyone I have spoken to who has flown the J120 says JAB HAS GOT IT RIGHT WITH THIS MODEL. Good balance, climb out ability, wing is matched perfectly, not too much float on landing etc etc etc . The rudder is bigger with more authority than the L55 predecessors and EASIER TO LAND!

Qwerty As a builder of an RV you can maintain your own plane but very very soon as a buyer of a experimental plane you will be able to maintain it. You will have to do a 2 day maintenance course which will be run by various aircraft organisations , one being SAAA, and all overseen and managed by CASA of course. I am sure it does not have to be checked off by a LAME. There is a limit as to what you can do of course. I am sure they will not allow you to go welding crankcases etc but it is enough to cover off a 100 hourly. I should look up the thread again on the SAAA site to make sure. Cheers.

RV`s are REASONABLY cost efficient compared to RA! RA is up up and away with a huge increase in members and planes, mostly imported factory types already built so that tells me GA is too expensive and restrictive with airports closing and over legislated. Flight safety magazine has info about this stuff. Running costs for 'GA planes' can be not too bad if you get the right plane by that I mean experimental reg VH. . I have a RV6 and If I have read that if I fly it at 120 knots I can get ABOUT 23 litres per hour, Not bad. At height and 145kts I get 29 litres per hr which considering time to get somewhere is as cheap as flying a J230 Jab at 115 kts. [ I think I have done my sums right] You can buy a RV 4 or 6 second hand for about the same as J230 or other plastics or build for about $110,000. I would rather buy one built and gain fly time. Insurance is similar cost, annuals can be done by yourself if you do the pilots mtce course thats looking to be approved soon under the auspices of CASA and in conjunction with SAAA. So Some 'larger' planes can mix it close to RA running costs!:stirring pot:

Diesel Diesel would be a good way to go for economy and power. Shame Theirlert went bust.

sensational looks This plane should sell on its looks alone! Sensational. I think he would sell heaps if he sold them as a factory made rather than kits. :thumb_up:

Eugene Based at Bacchus and still flying every available moment in his 'Tiger'

Great thread idea. Martin Jetpak or similar (Meet George Jetson) Great basic flying thrills). The SU-37 but I wish I could fly it like this video shows insane.cut & paste this into your browser it is worth it. http://www.flixya.com/video/163572/Latest_Russian_Jet_SU-37_-_Amazing_Acrobatics Elvis. But only so I can fly it into Smirnoff, hover over a vat of vodka, suck it up and take it home!!

GLIDER PILOTS MAKE BLOODY GOOD POWERED PILOTS. So cheap to fly gliders.

High ace An RV should take about 2 yrs to build for the average Joe. They have fast build kits out now. However quite often you will see advertised in 'aviation trader' Aviation Trader kits for sale that people have not finished due to a multitude of reasons. This could be an extra cheap way of flying, saving on the freight costs and kit already started. Cheers.

PD There are lots of kits out there and my advice which the others will back me up on I am sure is. DONT RUSH IN, TAKE YOUR TIME TO DECIDE. Maybe I am a bit slow but it took me 4 years before I finally knew for sure what type of flying I wanted to do and which aircraft would best do that for me in my price range.

Plug for RV`s Ace, It sounds like you are into speed and aeros so I recommend the Vans RV kit aircraft which can be built at a reasonable cost in reasonable time. Check them out at. Van's Aircraft - Total Performance RV Kitplanes They average about 150kts at height and do good aeros. They are a proven kit too with over 5000 flying I believe.

Brett I originate from NZ and yes the Sth Island is pure majesty and you can go do mountain flying near Pt Cook and hone up your skills whilst you are there PERHAPS visit warbirds over Wanaka at Easter but I reckon Bali is maybe the best holiday destination in the World for a cheap, [4 star hotels for 100 bucks ] relaxing, [ beaches] sometimes adventurous [ rafting, diving,]friendliest place.The Restaurants at Seminyak are world class. The artwork and home furnishings are fabulous too, I bet the wife would love that. I have been to the Caribbean islands 4 times , Hawaii, Italy, Turkey, Fiji, India 48 countries in total and for my vote its BALI. Where else could you go to a funeral ceremony in the morning, elephant riding in the afternoon and visit 1000 yr of Hindu Temples on the way. At night the local music and dancing is entrancing.

tULLA A lot of cars seem to camp off the end of northern strip at Tullamarine I notice but I could recommend you try the cape Conran coastal park just past Marlo a little bit. There is a dirt strip airfeild there. Been meaning to fly there myself ever since I drove to it once years ago, I camped near the beach it was heaven. Dove for abalones which I cooked on a fire for two minutes in green ginger wine. I better stop coz Im sounding like the Major. What a spot, Google earth it nothing there but dont tell anyone about the great fishing, snorkeling, camping and unpopulated beaches coz every one will go there , no amenities just raw basic camping