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G'day Michael. Far out. I wish I was forward enough looking at 15 to know what I wanted to do! :-) I fly the SportStar myself. We just got brand new SportStar SLs last week :-) Steven.

A little tricky if you want the absolute best performance because there are tradeoffs. The most important part of the computer for FSX or X-Plane performance is the CPU speed. The number of 'cores' in the CPU affect smoothness so ideally you would want the fastest quad core you can lay your hands on but it seems the fastest quad core is still slower than the fastest dual core but I have read plenty about dual and quad core users being happy with performance. There are CPUs from Intel and AMD. I have an AMD and get about 10fps LESS than guys using Intels so Intel is the way to go at the moment. I would lean to the fastest Intel quad core I can buy. The next thing is RAM. If you have hires scenery then 3GB is good. On my 4GB PC less than half of my memory is in use when running FSX. The next thing is Graphics Card. A good mid range card will do if tight on funds though the faster the better for future proofing I guess. :-) I had an 7600GT then spent lots on an 8800 GT. Not one FPS difference, exactly the same performance. Make sure the card has at least 512MB of RAM on it though. 756MB is better if you are using hires aircraft with your hires scenery (EG ORBX scenery). Lastly, a decent power supply. Todays graphics cards can suffer it seems if the power supply hasn't got the power to fully run everything. Be careful of the cheap ones that say high wattage numbers. At least in the past they often never delivered their advertised power output or if they did it was peak power, not continuous output. If you want a prebuilt PC then for around $3,500 you can get the Predetor PC from Acer I think it was. I heard from a guy that got one recently and he is a very happy camper! Steven.

Contrats. Same strip and exactly the same hours and me by the sounds of it. Aldinga can get a bit feisty can't it :-) Clearly it doesn't matter how long it takes. Just enjoy the journey. That is easier said then done sometimes, especially when the journey seems to take foreever! As to whether someone is ready or not at 20 hours. Most of the accidents I have seen are from people with hundreds or event thousands of hours so I don't know that time itself should be a factor. The instructors should overload/challenge us so we can experience in safety what we will almost definitely experience in real life. Pulling the throttle to idle for a forced landing doesn't cause a sweat, we know it is a simulation. Easier to do if we are in simulators I guess, there are certainly some things we really don't want to practice in a real aircraft! Steven.

Scary stuff. I have scars on my fingers from model aircraft. No way known I will try a big one! Steven.

Don't worry. It will be Real Soon Now !! Start worrying when you get to purple :thumb_up: Steven.

The guy Leo and I saw said Steve T said it was ok for him to have a look. Doesn't matter :-) I did the same thing on Saturday. Over the coast and did some medium and steep turns plus some stalls then into the circuit. I hadn't done stalls or steep turns any for ages. The landings were pretty ordinary but it seems I am going through a phase :-) Getting better aqain though. Not gusty? Will that ever happen?! I have flown every weekend over the last couple of months, 3 and 4 weeks ago in particular was very exciting. A hard time to start learning crosswind landings! I am _really_ looking forward to the controls loosening up. I felt like I was arm wrestling most of the time! Steven.

Hey Squid. Were you having a look at it with me and Leo yesterday? I found it harder to work out what was going on with the EFIS. Just practice I suppose... Steven.

Bugger, they must have packed all that in by 4pm! There were a couple of machines flying around at 4pm but when I went up they all seemed to disappear!? I even had my video camera with me so it was a pity I wasn't there earlier! Steven.

YouTube - Tigermoth hits a cow during landing on a field

I have read that before but can't see how you could use the wrong peddles! I will have to have a look next time! The older ones (ours anyway) had a little bracket at a right angle to the outside of the foot. I didn't like it much myself. The way I rest my feet was a bit of a problem because The bracket would catch on me sideways turned foot. It is hard to describe without pictures! Steven.

yeah. Aileron trim, GPS, EFIS, leather seats, nice big RPM gauge, better (though very similar) fuselage styling, more cargo space (though the back shelf cant have anything heavy on it), more rudder area and the step on the wing is longer (starts closer to the trailing edge). There are a few other differences but that is most of what I am aware of. I had a lot of trouble accessing the flap handle, the seat cushions were in the way. We also couldn't seem to adjust the radio volume so we had to do it from our headsets. Fortunately I now have my new ANR headset with volume controls! Steven.

I just came back from my first flight in one of our brand new SportStars. It has a shade on the roof so you don't cook the noggin so much. :-) All the controls are really stiff but she is pretty sweet to look at. I find the EFIS a bit difficult in flight but I guess I will get used to it. On approach the airspeed kept bouncing numbers between 60 and 67 knots. On the EFIS it just changes numbers instantaneously where the steam gauge I feel I have more of a sense of the trend, average speed. Still, it is my first time with it... Steven

I can't imagine it without an AI and really, dunno why. That is the first time I have seen a aircraft without one! I don't get around much though :-) When my instructor covered it over during one of my flights I seemed to do a much better job of keeping the correct attitude during climbing turns for some reason. The SportStar I was in last week has crossed 8,000 hours. They get a bit of use! Steven.

No worries. I just clicked on the "insert image" icon in the toolbar. I dunno how to do that thumbnail bit but I will work it out next time :-) Steven.

She sure is basic. :-) Here is a picture of one of ours. It is going to be a little sad to see it retire. I wonder how long it will take to assemble the new ones? I like the Aldinga area and it is only 25 mins away from me in Happy Valley.

No attitude indicator? Do you mean DG (directional gyro/heading indicator)? The SportStar has a digital true-track readout instead which is pretty hoopy. Sometimes I would like a high wing so I can see the ground out the side a bit better but it is hard to beat the bubble canopy and it is nice to fly. Not that I have flown anything else to compare it to yet! Where are you going to be flying out of?

Our new planes were supposed to arrive last Tuesday. We had one Sportstar with a single tank in the fuselage and two with wet wings. I think all three of them are being replaced. No more steam guages it seems. I will miss them! Unfortunately when it comes time to buy it is out of me league :-( Steven.

Thanks guys for opening my eyes!! I now realise that us nose wheel aircraft <drivers> must be really skilled because the vast majority of us don't break the delicate little things off! <ducks for cover>:devil: Steven.

Well. The file in question has no distribution or other limitations in the About section that I saw so it is entirely reasonable to think the file is public and without limitation. Steven.

Bob. I am a LSA student myself. Lots of fun, like me you will probably think to yourself "why didn't I do this earlier!"

I have a few of the IPhone apps on my IPod touch. Copilot is a great little flight planner. It is important to properly and fully configure your aircraft in it though. The CG graphing on it is great. It doesn't have much in the way of E6B functionality though. The other app I tend to use is called Flightplan which is what I use to check my whiz wheel calculations and misc conversions. With the ERSA. I only like that and maps on paper. A friend of mine says he has copies of the ERSA pages he might need with his maps but he will have the whole book tucked behind a passenger seat but within easy reach. I would hate to try zooming in on the PDF while flying, especially looking up the EMERG section! :-) As far as legal goes. for ERSA, as long as the pages are current I don't believe it is an issue. For EFBs, I know we aren't allowed to use non-approved navigation equipment as the primary means but we can use them as secondary. From my reading anyway! Steven.

I am no-where near my cross countries IRL yet but I have a the whole kit and have started doing navs in FSX. I wouldn't bother with the "student' version of the E6B whiz wheel. They are only a little cheaper and I find it a little difficult to use accurately with one hand and mine has a little play to the left and right which makes my numbers up to 2 knots out. I am currently using the E6B but my CR3 should arrive today. I like the idea of not having a slide and the CR3s face is bigger to make it easier for my poor old eyes :-) Steven.

LOL! To each their own. :-) Steven.

Me, I'm a 'driver' by the sounds of it. Doesn't matter to me as long as it get me off the ground and isn't a balloon. :-) I was interested to know why many people here seemed to like the taildraggers too and I think that has been well and truly answered! Steven.

I was saying the winds as reported by the closest weather station. I have only just started checking the aerodrome weather panel myself as of last week. The numbers seem to vary a little. One document has a single figure of 10 knots but the Evektor site has this: 21 knots (demonstrated) 14 kts (experienced) 11 knots (novice) Steven.