Thx1137

It didn't seem to be a problem with the sportstar. The crosswind conditions were close to max-demonstrated but not over. I found the approaches hard because I kept being too high. It was interesting to see what a good gust can do. Near the ground, say a couple of hundred feet the gusting didn't seem noticable which seems par for the course there. It is nearly always a bumpy ride down but it seems to invariably smooth out near the ground. Steven.

Far out brentc. What do you do!? I don't know about other fields but work related certifications in computer programming is a crock. At the pointy end it doesn't seem to matter at all whether someone is self taught or has a diploma. I need to give candidates a coding test to sort out who actually has any idea.

haha :-) Fair enough. Well. I had that once so I decided to land. Certainly I can see cloud conditions changing a lot better than wind conditions. True enough about "how much does ya need ta know ?". Clearly there is a cost/benefit issue here. So far I cannot see that LESS training would be a good thing. Everything I have learned so far seems to be quite basic. The limiting factor with this argument for me is that I take a GA license as the baseline. We should be just as safe as them however we are more flexible. don't want to train/learn controlled airspace procedures? Fine, learn enough to be able to stay away. Don't want to learn navigation? Fine, don't learn it. But if we want each of those things I rekon we should learn it as well as everyone else. Why should we have exactly the same privileges but require less learning? Maybe I am wrong but there it is :-) The key for me is the endorsments, learn more, get more freedom. As for my quoted comment. When I started doing my cross-winds 2 weeks ago the plane was in 17 knot gusting to 29 knot winds. I said to the instructor that I was happy about it because while it was a b*tch it meant I had the experience while he was with me. I sure would hate to get caught out by it if I only had steady conditions training! I am a bit of a chicken though. :-)

Good post Mike, Nev. Things change so we have to change with it. A lot of P platers (and non-P platers for that matter) on the road die because they 'think' they know their limits. Also, a pilot that is only used to CAVOK, what happens to him when the wind picks up? It is pretty simple really. In anything we do that requires licensing we study the necessary material to get specific privileges. If we don't want to study it then we don't have to, it is a choice. As far as "not everyone can do it", why not? more like not everyone can be bothered, thats different. "Not everyone enjoys it". Who the heck ENJOYS tests and studying!? :-) "I know my limits so trust me" and is something that almost everyone thinks otherwise they wouldn't be doing it though it is not exactly a good indication of skill. Maybe they do know their limits but how can anyone else know that? Clearly a lot of people are wrong. How do we know who is wrong before they kill themselves or others... Having said that, I do agree that if we are going to be tested then the test should be decent. I personally cannot stand learning stuff for nothing. As to the quality of the exam. Buggered if I know, I have read the material but haven't done the test yet. But if it is bad then with a few revisions and commuity input there is no reason they can't come up to scratch. Paper tests are always going to be crappy. The best tests for someone like myself is to be given demo situations and then experiencing it but I would hate to know the cost of that kind of training! In the end it seems most of us agree "continuous learning" is necessary but it seems there is some departure on whether there is any need to actually demonstrate it OR that because a written test isn't currently 'good enough' then there is no point.

ROFL! Damn thats priceless :-)

My ex-wife started taking flying lessons about the time our divorce started and she got her license shortly before our divorce was final, later that same year. Yesterday afternoon I got a phone call, that she narrowly escaped injury in the aircraft she was piloting. Seems she was forced to make an emergency landing in Hamilton because of bad weather. Thank God the kids weren't with her. The FAA issued a preliminary report, citing pilot error: She was flying a single engine aircraft in IFR (instrument flight rating) conditions while only having obtained a VFR (visual flight rating) rating. The absence of a post-crash fire was likely due to insufficient fuel on board. No one on the ground was injured. The photograph below was taken at the scene to show the extent of damage to her aircraft. She was really lucky.

Actually, I was getting headaches, feeling a bit sick and got pretty drowsy until just before I soloed. It would start about an hour after the flight, NEVER when I was at the airfield. Originally I thought it was the Kwells I was taking for airsickness but I didn't need those after about 5 hours so that wasn't it. I would get home, have some water then go to bed for a few hours. That helped but I didn't feel normal until the next morning. My own normal blood pressure is normal to a fraction low. As I haven't had it for awhile now so I thought it just took a long time for my body to settle in. One thing. Make sure you have plenty of water, I find I need 1 to 1.5 liters starting about 2 hours before the flight when the weather is warm. I was getting a dehydrated and that certainly didn't help. Yeah, I sweat like a pig in the big bubble SportStar canopy :-) Steven.

Oh I dunno. I have flown one of these myself. A bit finicky but not too bad! Well, only in FSX of course :-) I couldn't imaging ever having the courage to fly in my car! I had read recently that the first deliveries of a sky car is to be next year. I will be interesting to see if it happens and if it somehow does, if it works.

One little thing, I believe the max alt is 5000 OR 2000 over high terrain. I had asked around before I started and it seemed many of the guys a my airfield who weren't in a hurry (ie: full time) went the RA-Aus route to get their CPLs because of the cheaper airtime. If I was going to fly for a living I would either try for a scholarship (hah! not at my age!) or do what I am doing now. Get my RA-Aus certificate then cross country. After that jump into the PPL training. Basically you can use the study materials that GA pilots use while flying cheaper aircraft. Hopefully there is someone here who has actually done it that would be better placed for the pros and cons!? Steven.

As a new pilot with only 15.2 hours myself I must admit that I cannot see why I need to study less than a GA pilot in most areas because the aircraft I fly is simply a 2 seater version of a GA machine. I can do everything they can do with the limiting factor being rules and regulations. Maybe I don't need too much controlled airspace training except to know how to avoid it as I am not allowed in it but just about everything else is just like the larger versions. Personally, I initially purchased the same training books as used for the PPL/CPL because it seemed obvious to me that I ether learn to fly 'like a real pilot' or I should stay on the ground. I dunno if this should apply to all classes of ultralight but certainly for the standard 3 axis machines I think it should. One difference between us an the GA world is to do with how we are licensed. A person going for the PPL either passes or fails the whole lot but we have a set of core training and endorsements so we can train in increments. I do think each level of training should be just as strick as GA but it means we can expand our horizons in stages, that is one of the things I liked about the RA-Aus system. Besides the safety aspects, if we don't want the rest of the flying world to view us as substandard pilots in 'toy' aeroplanes than we should be just as rigorous in our training as everyone else. I have heard a few times that this is a common view by some. Steven.

Um. The whole idea is to make my biscuit soft!!!! That way my teeth won't break :-)

A good topic this one. Many people forgive 'small' infractions easily no matter if it a mistake or knowingly done. Sometimes the problem is one person definition of 'small' is not anothers. For me, as a newbie, airspace incursions isn't small. Fines and reprimands have very little effect on people willfully breaking rules. This can be seen by the number of repeat automotive traffic violations. For someone that makes a genuine mistake then just a "please explain" is usually enough. If they know what they did wrong and they have any kind of ethic then they will seek the required missing knowledge because they don't want to be in that situation again. For someone that causes a serious breach possibly involving the safety of others because they simply couldn't be bothered or wanted to save a bit of time I would prefer grounding. In the example supplied it sounded to me like it would be part of the plan that they would dip into restricted airspace, the pilot chose the route did he/she not? I reckon we RA-Aus members should be quite clear that we want to maintain our right to fly so we wont put up with poor behavior from our members. So, a gentle, guiding hand for those of us that make mistakes and an iron fist for those of us that don't care about everyone elses right to fly and their safety. Steven.

For me, I can start lacking confidence and it becomes self fulfilling because I try too hard and either do things too early to too late. Last time I had that I though. Well, I know how to do this so just get on with it and enjoy it! I had found I wasn't enjoying the flying so much because I started thinking of it all as a big test and I am not good at tests as I am a pretty strict examiner! :-) Is your instructor is still going up with you for the first couple of circuits? If so then they must be happy enough if they are still getting out of the plane. If not, maybe ask one of them to have a ride? As long as they are still safe don't sweat it, relax and enjoy it and don't expect too much too early. Steven.

G'day and welcome Bullzi. What are you learning to fly? Have you had any lessons yet? Are you learning for fun or a career? Steven.

Ohh, I dunno. If you are expecting-the-unexpected and something unexpected happens then you did expect it, not the thing that occurred but the 'unexpected' :-). (I am a computer programmer so I get pretty pedantic about detail :-)) It doesn't ultimately improve your situation thought! I was talking about circuit conflicts with one of my workmates who has come back to work today. He is a GA pilot with almost 20 years experience. I described the circuit conflict issue and he said "well, as you were alone in your circuit you could do an orbit on downwind". I then described some of the responses from the guys in this forum and he can see the issue too of course but what it is illustrating to me is that it probably is not an uncommon response given he is the first and only pilot outside this group I have had a chance to talk to. Common doesn't mean 'good' of course. :-) Thinking some more about it. I will write in to a couple of the Australian magazines and see if a safety article about orbits and maybe any other 'unusual' pattern maneuvers might be a good subject. Steven.

I wanted to join the air force when I was a kid. Those aircraft just looked awesome. :-) I didn't think I really had it in me to be able to fly a jet so I gave up without even trying. 9 Months ago I was faced with a choice, find something wildly expensive to do or actually SAVE money. I am clearly allergic to saving money so decided to pursue the childhood dream of flying. I had a 4 month gap during that time because I took the family to Japan, that drained every account I had so I couldn't start again until a few weeks ago. I found the forums using Google. One of the guys here had a post that match some keywords.

No worries, One of the issues with being taught anything is that an instructor must be careful to define where non-ordinary behaviour is being taught and exactly where it is and isn't appropriate. The statement that the if procedure was done at YHOX under any circumstances is something I didn't know of course and if I was told the procedure then it would have been useful to be given definate guidlines on when and when it isn't appropriate. I know that aircraft are allowed to fly without radios around are field and is natural to assume that someone might have the wrong channel or just be plain broken. I have experienced a few occasions already where there have been no calls. The point I was trying to make, rightly or wrongly was that if there is someone in the circuit behind me that I don't know about I wouldn't expect them to be that close. Now this is where these discussions get useful. :-) In my current flying aircraft that are following me in the circuit have litterally been behind me. If the aircraft is out wide and is unaware of my intentions because of no/broken radio (or whatever) then that would certainly cause some concern. (hmm. just saw you said something simailar :-) Thanks for everyones input. The issues with doing an orbit the circuit for spacing are certainly non-trivial so I had already decided that I won't be doing them. Not for the sake of another 6 minutes in my pattern. Though the chat on Saturday will still be interesting! Sorry, the invention thing wasn't ment to mean I don't think it can/does happen or that it makes no sense. I was relating to a specific set of circumstances at my field at that time but I felt that we were getting a bit of a walloping for somehow condoning actions in circumstances that we wern't actually in... It is easy to get defensive :-)

Hmmm. So something that doesn't make sense for a large busy airport cannot make sense for to a small CTAF in the specific circumstances I mentioned? Also, I recon we are already in trouble if someone is not radio equiped and is flying so close and not paying attention. Don't construe this as me justifying that I think it is OK. Some doubts have been raised so I will discuss it with the-other-side. I certainly won't accuse them of poor airmanship though as some of these guys have been flying since I was in nappys and the seem pretty good to me as someone who has delt with them. Inventing scenarios were something doesn't make sense is easy and if we do that then what the heck are we doing in the air!

There has been discussion that shows that doing them on final has some serious issues and note, no-one has suggested that that is an appropriate place to do them. As I mentioned, I did a go-around. As far as I am aware we only consider the on downwind and as I mentioned, I heard a guy doing one on the dead side. To me it is just another tool in the kit that may be suitable if traffic, environmental and visibility (sportstars have _great_ visibility!) permit. Based on some of the feedback here that seems to be some against them in (maybe almost) all circumstances it will be interesting on Saturday to get a couple of the instructors together and have a chat about the rights and wrongs of them in our particular situation. It is good to get these opinions as it can help us newbies think about these things more in depth.

G'day and Welcome Foto, I have flown flight simulators since I was a kid but it wasn't until I decided to take lessons and got the pilot training manuals that I flew in FS properly. A bit of real world flying knowledge makes flight simulation a lot more challenging and enjoyable! When do you fly? Steven.

hehe, one of my instructors once said, "you might like to start your base turn now, those hills are getting really large!". the next circuit I said to him, "I might start turning now because you seem to have an aversion to big hills!". He seemed to think that was a good idea :-) I think one of the issues a student faces (well, maybe just me :-)) is that it is hard to take the lead, you know your new and think (hope!) the other guy will somehow know and make your life easier. Being told, "your in command" and "one of a pilots prime tasks is to make decisions (and not sit in his hands and wait)" is all well and good but at least for me, it was a useful experience not only for procedural reasons but because it illustrated a frame of mind where I made no decision until I had to so was basically hoping for the best. This bug is catching, I only flew yesterday and I really want to leave work now for a fly! Steven.

When I got down I asked the instructor about various scenarios such as when there may be someone behind me. Part of the reason I did the go-around was because I was was established on final of course, I do wish I had thought of the orbit earlier in the pattern though! On a subsequent occasion we did an orbit on downwind (no one behind us) and that seemed ok. If there was someone behind us then I guess I could extend downwind by doing a climb to clear the hill or turn mid-downwind over the runway and in either case rejoin the circuit from the dead side (doing an orbit on the dead side if needed). Part of the key here I think is that the earlier we react to an issue the better options we have, we knew we had a separation issue on crosswind! By leaving it so late I had fewer options than if I bit the bullet and didn't wait to see if the other guy did and did something earlier in the circuit.

Couldn't extend downwind as there is a big hill in the way. They always have the radio on in the club house so it's good when one of the flock need a hand :-)

Hi Scott, at just after 4pm it seems I was the only student, usually there are lots of us buzzing around! I think the wind was worse last week as I didn't have so much wind drpping and sink today. Still, it was a handful for me! Yes you are luck the will go up with you. I may be able to get them up once but a second time? Not so sure. I will really have to pick a nice day and trip :-) I have only ever been in a taildragger once before, about 20 year ago. I don't really understand why many pilots swear by them though :-) Later on I will have to try on out to find out! :-) It seem there are a few Aldinga people here, I will have to upload my mug shot so we can say 'hi!':-)

G'day, I thought I would share something that happened to me on my second solo. 3 hours flight time ago. I was doing standard circuits and another aircraft was doing crosswind circuits. I realised early on that things were a bit problematic when I would make a circuit call then almost straight away the other aircraft would also make the same call, my call was usually if not always the first one. My reading has been that the crosswind aircraft would normally give way so when it came to turn final the other aircraft called it before me. Now I am thinking, "I am turning final, what do I do!". The correct answer is obvious, one of us should have done an orbit for spacing BUT, while I now remember I had read that in the book, I had never done it or heard anyone do it up until then so I didn't even think of it. Basically I just made a "going around" call. Of course the next circuit we had the same problem. This time my instructor radioed from the ground asking the other guy to do an orbit (and I slap my forehead and go AH!). After that it was all good. So, not perfect, but safety wasn't a problem EXCEPT. Turning final I got very slow and was quite low. I was no more than 8 knots above stall on a 20 degree bank. Needless to say it taught me a valuable couple of lessons! People and books always try to drum in "first: Aviate!" By george it can be hard to do that when distracted can't it! Steven