Jerry_Atrick

Ciao bene, @Malpo412

That was one helluva letter, but it appears to have been a little too late... I am sure he had sparring words when he was in charge of CASA. I hope the letter is published well beyond AOPA, otherwise it won't make one iota of difference to the electorate.

Maybe, but they still look good...

I was reading through the whole thread on the other site (first time I have been to it in a very long time), and some were of the belief it is due to an obstinate security manager at a certain airline that flies into Birdsville. Apparently, Birdsville and a few others were supposed to be coming off the list of airports requiring security (and therefore the ASIC card), apparently in line with Dept of Home Affairs advice, however, at the last minute it decided not to.. and a few others that the certain airline fly to that were supposed to come off the secured airfield list (or whatever it was called) but changed their mind at the last minute.. Althogh, apparently a coupel of others decided not to take the airline's advice. Regardless, still up to the council to apply common sense and logic.

From the dark side (aka PPRUNE): AVIATION WRITER @ironsider 10:36AM MARCH 2, 2021 The decades-long tradition of *pilots camping under the wing of their aircraft at the Birdsville Races has been banned by the council in a move declared “un-Australian” by veteran aviator Dick Smith. The entrepreneur is leading calls to have the Diamantina Shire Council’s ban overturned, before the race meeting in September. Council imposed the ban because of the cost involved in operating a “special events zone” at the Birdsville airstrip. Owen Ruschen and Ian Dewick, camping next to their plane, flew in from Wagga.Diamantina chief executive Leon Love said under the airstrip’s tier-three security status, council would have to provide 24-7 *security and install fenced *walkways. “Those type of requirements have always been there but council is more risk averse and its insurers have become more risk averse,” he said. “Higher standards equals higher cost, and council also provides amenities, collects rubbish, empties portaloos, and all of those things combined cost us more than the landing fees we collect during that week.” He said the council took the view the operation of the airstrip should be cost neutral in race week, and eliminating the special events zone achieved that. “Maintaining a multimillion-dollar airport on a shoestring budget, something’s got to give,” he said. Mr Smith said the ban *appeared to be an “over-reaction” and he was hopeful it could be reversed. He said there was nothing more Australian than flying to the outback town and sleeping under the wing. “First climbing Ayers Rock (Uluru) was banned and now this. You wonder what’s next?” he said. “Now pilots going to Birdsville will have to carry all their stuff to another camping area where it’s completely packed with people who know nothing about aviation.” Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association executive director Ben Morgan said they were hopeful of finding a solution to the problem facing council and would work together if possible. A petition launched by AOPA opposing the ban had attracted more than 2000 signatures in 48-hours, and Mr Morgan said the issue highlighted a bigger problem for general aviation. “It needs to be stressed, this is a critical moment in time. We need to implement a solution that will enable events at remote airstrips,” Mr Morgan said. Already a “boycott Birdsville” hashtag was circulating pilot groups on social media, to the concern of local business operators. Birdsville Hotel owner and pilot Talia Ellis, said the races were critically important to the whole region this year after being cancelled in 2020 due to COVID. “When people fly out to Birdsville, most do so because they can camp out under their wing,” Ms Ellis said. “There’s lots of little towns that benefit with them stopping and refuelling, staying over night. It won’t only be Birdsville and the races that are impacted if this ban goes ahead.” She said there had been no safety breaches in the past to warrant such action and she was hopeful they could find a way to make it happen. “There is another way to skin a cat so to speak, so we think they can resolve the issues in a financially viable way,” said Ms Ellis. “There’s a lot of passionate people in the aviation industry who would be keen to help in any way they can.”

Pilot magazine here are doing weekly articles of emergency and unusal flight "refreshers/training" using FS2020... Last month they had an evelator control failure - although when I was a member of RVAC, hands off flying (in the circuit) was one of the comps... Let's just say, I almost survived 😉 but I was amazed at how accurate the plane could be flown without use of the control column.

Your're right in that a private/GA pilot doesn't technically need an ASIC card - I think the minimum is the AVID, which is a lower level background check and lasts for 5 years? The MSIC I thinkis for yachties.. But, as a GA pilot that would be flying into security controlled airfields such as Moorabbin, Bankstown, Parafield, and hopefully Jandakot - as well as the obligatory Birdsville (where I am told there is one bloke who is anal about ASIC card), it will be a ball-ache to try to arrange for an airport official with a red card to meet me, and of course, if I am running latet (rarely early), it will be a pain. Of course, when I get back to Aus, I would go rec flying as crossing international boundaries isn't really going to be an issue... For me it will be controlled airspace - My IMC Rating won't be valid in Aus, and I doubt I will be bothered douing a full IR (plus as one gets older, they want their flying to be more leisurely).

I don't even know who you're talking about... Is that Aussie's netball team?

Both countries? Isn't New Zealand really East Australia? [edit] or the Eastern Territory [/edit] Or, is Australia really the West Island? I can't remember...

Oi, Scott! Did you remember to switch on the transponder!!!???!! (the amount of times I have left it on standby and got a right ticking off by ATC is too many to admit to!)

Don't worry, Phil.. Read in this month's Pilot that France has given UK permit aircraft the all clear equivalence so your fellas can fly to France to get fois gras and escargo again without all of the administratrative hassle.. The airfields missing British custom must have complained hard and long enough... 😉

If you're a Hawks support, it's definitely Mayday, Mayday, Mayday.. Ship is going down... (sorry for thread drift).

Deepest condolences to friends and family. A spital dive unchecked or pulled out of too quickly will likely lead to a break-up before you hit the ground (depending on altitude, of course). We had to practice them as part of the PPL and the acceleration is scarily quick and the ASI winds up accordingly. Also a tell tale if a dive over a spin is the increasing air and prop noise.. In GA aircraft I have trained in, recovery of a spiral dive is throttle back, wings level with aileron and then arrest descent with elevator - gently.. I don't know Aussie regs, but if an aircraft is a homebuild (are any Vans not homebuild?), how does it end up on the VH register (whcih I thought - possibly incorrectly - is for certificated GA aircraft?

Unf, like Australia, all EU countries are required to levy VAT. This is done at the point of sale and there is now't much that can be done about it when you hand over the cash. Note, if it is an imported aircraft,. chances are it has had import duties paid as well. While it is a legal requirement that EU countrues charge VAT, each countries rules are slightly different. The minimum rate is 15%, but they can charge what they like, and there are exemptions to the 15% as well (e.g. staple foods, etc). A quick look here gives you the rates of each EU country: https://www.avalara.com/vatlive/en/vat-rates/european-vat-rates.html. During the pandemic, VAT rates have been cut for some countries. As mentioned, each country's rules are different, and I am going off the UK rules, that haven't changed since leaving the EU (why get rid of a cash cow the population is used to paying for?) You can either run your purchase through an existing company registered for VAT, or you can form a company and register it for VAT. This is oiptional for companies with a revenue < £85k. Once registered, you can claim your input VAT paid (i.e. the VAT you are charged for when making purchases for your business) against the output VAT (the amount of VAT you collect from sales by your business). So, what happens is yoy buy an aircraft for say £150K + VAT. The VAT will be £30K. You will have to hand the seller £180K. It is illegal for the seller not to collect VAT for these types of transactions. But if yiour VAT registered company buys it, your VAT reigstered company can claim the £30K as input VAT. If you had no sales in the quarter you purchased your aircraft, you have no output VAT to offset you input VAT, so, assuming you made no other purchases, HMRC will deposit the £30K into your company account. But.. there are a couple of gotchas.. First is that any private use of the aircraft will have to have VAT charged against it. So, if you hire it out, VAT has to be applied. If you use it yourself, you have to work out a fair value of the rental you would have paid, and you have to pay VAT on that fair value. In other words, every time you privately use the aircraft, you have to pay a 20% tax based on the fair value rental of the aircraft. This doesn't have to me market rates, but it has to cover all costs of the iarcraft including depreciation, maintenance, etc. Secondly, you are simply deferring the payment of the VAT (i.e. lowering the cost of purchasing the aircraft, but not the total cost) If, for example you decide that it is a pain in the proverbial to pay that tax when flying, and make quarterly VAY returns, etc., then you can unregister for VAT or dissolve the company - or trasnfer ownershipo to yourself as a person. When that is done, you have to pay the VAT at the purchase price (no allowance for depreciation). Or, when you sell the aircraft, the buyer has to pay VAT on the sale price of the aircrtaft. This sounds OK until you realise that you have to doscount your selling prtice so the VAT inclusive price the buyer pays is the market price of the second hand aircraft. In the UK and Europe, you will often see used aircraft ads with + VAT or Vat Paid. The former means the original VAT had been reclaimed and it has to be paid again; the latter means the VAT is paid and not reclaimed. So, you think, "Hey, I know.. My company will sell me the aircraft at a discount price and I will pay little VAT in the end." Well, in the UK, HMRC don't like that very much. Firstly, if you do sell, you have to physcially transfer the sale price to the company (unles the company owes you at least that much in directors loans). And if you re-draw it even after a few months, they will consider it not a sale and you will be liable for the whole original VAT amount. If the HMRC deem you have trasferred at a materially lower than market value, they will top it up to market value and you will have to pay the VAT on that (+ interest at something like 20% + Bank of England interest rate). And they compound it every month or something like that.. One thing the HMRC hates - and since the merge of Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise they have more powers than the Spcial Branch of the police (anti-terrorism) - is being gypped out of money. The best that you can do is defer the payment - and possibly later reduce the payment of VAT - but it will still have to be paid. These are the UK rules as they were a few years ago (haven't kept up with changes relating to aircraft). The EU country you buy in will inevitably be different. The best thing is to find the lowest customs (if imprted from outside the EU) and VAT rate country within the EU to purchase your aircraft, make sure there are no gotchas and buy it there (assuming new) or find a used one there. Once VAT is paid in an EU country, it is paid across the EU - another country can't charge an equivalence VAT rate. Of course, if the VAT paid is worth it, an hour or so with a good accountant should give you better advice than I could ever give.

Getting back to topic, on my next trip to Aus (hopefully not too distant future - could use a forced 2 week break), I will be begrudgingly applying for my ASIC.. The reality, it has spawned a cottage industry of companies that handle the applications - and the CFI at the RVAC is certified to certify docs as originals, etc., so it looks to be a seemless process. But, because of the cottage industry, even if the guvmint wanted to get rid of it, they will find it difficult as whole businesses and employment have popped up as a result. I agree it should be fought at every opportunity, but as it will probably cost more votes to get rid of it than it will attract, I can't see it happening anytime soon (of course, when I get back to Aus, if you vote me in a PM and I stay for 2 terms to get the cushy pension and benefits, in addition to being a PM, then I will promise to look into it for you ;-))

Isn't that Greek, though.. Seems it to me! 😉

I inquired about lanfing at Heathrow for that episode... Would have cost more than the plane was worth...

We are even further away....

Enjoy your endeavours... Of course, I would also recommend taking a look at the EASA PPL.. I am not sure of the differences in the training and medical requirements, but I don't think it is that much.. and it gives you a whole lot more flexibility. As an example, I had everything organised for a Sojourn to Anzac Cove in the shareoplane for last year's Anzac day, but the pandemic put pay to that. You can certainly do it with an LSA and LAPL, but its a lot more pain. Also, the fleet you have access to in Europe has much more variety and I think (but don't quote me) you can fly LSA on your EASA PPL - though it may pay to triple check. You can hire Robins, AT-3s and all sorts - muchmore variety than in Aus or the US (or the UK for that matter).

I have always wondered what happens to GA pilots who fly into Aus in their own machines? Do they need to get an ASIC? If not, isn't that a bit of a loop-hole. I am sure there are N registered machines in Aus, and with my FAA PPL, flying an N reg and not resident in Aus, it would seem a little loophole - but it is likely the foreign pilot is going to be the one who is more likely to be a threat, surely? But even so, the 60 year old coming over to do some GA flying is not really going to be a threat, either. I htink it is fair to say the UK (particularly London) is at far more risk of a terrorist attack than anywhere in Australia.. We have about 10 or so major training airfields in the counties surrounding London, each about 10 minutes to get to London... The thought of a security clearance for the pilots even made the CAA laugh...

We get as dose every month in Pilot Magazine...

Hi Josh, Can't speak for Portugal, but French landing fees are a pittance (except Le Touquet, which is the mecca for British Piliots and as British pilots are used to being fleeced on Landing fees, the 25 or 30EUR is not unexpected). As an example, I few years ago, I flew to Angers (pronounced on-jzer), which is a decent sized regional airport (i.e. can take at least 737s and Airbus equivalents) and from memory the landing fee was EUR15 and no parking charge for the first 24 hours. Of course, smaller farm fields here don't fleece you, but that is the price I pay for staying GA. (there's a slogan there, I think). In France, airfields denoted AA are French speaking only - sometimes airfields are AA for certain periods (I think Le Touquet and Calais are AA on Tuesdays). You only need to know the joining call and circuit/landing/taxying/take-off calls... and oif course the numbers zero through 9. I take a cribb sheet, though have never used it as I have always used English coming into France. Flying in with a TB20 helped, of course, but that was only once. My examiner took me on a flight to France, we went to an AA field, he used all English.. Some cranky flying club official came out and was lecturing us in a rather animated fashion; my examiner game a Gallic shrug and that was it. His view was that most of them speak English and those that don't know an aircraft is around somehwere and keep a good lookout. I call the field in advance and get "permission" to visit using English. Not being a LSA pilot, I can't be 100% sure, but most countries have their own verion of a Rec Piliots Certificate, but you can also get an EASA LAPL (Light Aircraft Pilots Licence). This will allow you to fly in their airpsace in a LSA registered to another country, without prior permission. For example, Belgium I think require something like a 90 Euro payment and prior permission to enter., and it is per trip. Before Brexit, the UK, Germany, France, Spain, and I think Italy (not sure about Austria) had an agreement to allow LSAs to enter their airspace without prior permission for up to 90 days at a time, I think. Had great fun in a 2 seat trike crossing the channel once. [Edit] Phil Perry will know a lot more about it than me.... [/edit

You mean I wasn't meant to have sex in the Moorrabbin airport carpark???????? (Good thing, then.. and I hadn't and thought I was missing out!)

Nope - Aussie Rules fan (they still have a ruck, though) - and nope- meant ruck in the post

There's a ruck load of stars to see in blighty on a clear night in blighty if one doesn't live in London