Thruster88

If those rubber mounts are 40mm that puts the bolt spacing at about only 110mm. I think this will always be a problem.

The CVR will be interesting. It is unfortunate the Dash 8 entered the runway at the touch down point, at the threshold it would have been a near miss.

I think my solution of bump stops has some merit. With a piece of 50x10 or 12mm aluminium bar under the head of longer bolts it can work in both directions at each mount. The bump stops are only needed for starting and stopping. The existing mounts remain unchanged if they are doing an acceptable job in flight.

Rogerc's post has given me the idea of having bump stops installed. These could be out board of the isolation, something very stiff with a mm or 2 of clearance. Automotive engine mounts have this design. Isolation when running, travel limited when stopping, win win.

Hey Blue, if you flew before 10am local that could be considered last year🤔. I flew into Cowra today dec 31 2023 to get fuel and flew home 20 mins later in the new year.

Looking on Google there are no clear areas. Even the road is not accessible for a stol aircraft like a thruster. It would be a beautiful fly if the engine keeps running... A BRZ is the machine for that route, planning is in progress 😁.

Any RAAus pilot can do this now. Equippe the aircraft, get an RPL ( in a VH aircraft, easy), do the training which will be required either way and oh I forgot they will need a CASA medical.

The LS 350 ci engine may be more suitable as a substitute for the six cylinder Continental 520ci or Lycoming 540ci engines in terms of weight and horsepower produced. Not really a fan of automotive conversions, the devil is in the details.

Builders of Van's aircraft could cheapen the job by using an LS engine. Cletus who is a fixed wing and helicopter pilot and Carbon cub owner declined a ride. Aircraft starts at 4 min in.

The current CEO Matt is moving on. The scary part is it seems like only yesterday he came on board, not three years ago. Fly and fly while you can. From the CEO Dear all, 2023 has been another busy year here at RAAus. We’ve had our 40th birthday celebrations, promoted RAAus at the Australian International Airshow at Avalon, joined forces with the AMDA Foundation to make ‘Fly’n For Fun’ 2024 at Parkes in April a reality, supported numerous initiatives such as the award winning Touch the Sky series and Loss of Control series, and our staff have been busy attending various locations around the country to meet with members, audit flight training schools, and generally promote recreational aviation. We’ve also been involved in assisting members achieve their dreams, like Hayden McDonald who the week before last completed his solo circumnavigation of Australia to promote inclusion, particularly for neurodiverse people such as himself – so great! This year we’ve spent a significant amount of effort on finalising the approval for our new Group G that will enable members to operate aircraft up to 760kgs maximum take-off weight. We’re so close now and our final approval from CASA is imminent. Now that we have a high degree of confidence around the requirements for Group G, your RAAus team is now working feverishly to finalise internal processes, and develop training and educational material so members understand the requirements and can easily take advantage of this new privilege. So what does 2024 look like? I can confidently say that Group G will finally become a reality in early 2024, and with CASA having recently consulted on controlled airspace access for recreational aviators, I’m also confident this won’t be too far off either. RAAus members have eagerly awaited both of these for more than a decade and therefore we’re so excited to make these both a reality. Also in 2024, our Board has been clear with their direction to diversify our business model to ensure we keep recreational aviation affordable for all. What this means is that we will be seeking other revenue opportunities to enable, in effect, a cross-subsidisation of the aviation side of the house, because that will always be our core function as a company. From a personal perspective, having seen out my three-year contracted term, I’ve decided to move on from RAAus to a different role within the industry. I’ll be taking some leave over the Christmas break before returning to the office in late January, then finishing up in mid-February. Leading the RAAus team as CEO has been an incredible privilege. I cannot emphasise enough how hard this team of 20 staff work to make your interactions with us positive, to enable new privileges like Group G, to assist you in being safe aviators, and to support our flight training schools across the country. We take immense pride in all that we do at RAAus, which has grown from humble beginnings into a professional and modern organisation that exists to enable our members to take to the skies. I also want to thank our Directors who are voted in by members and give up a significant amount of their time to oversight RAAus without any remuneration. I cannot stress enough how important it is that our Board is made up of people that not only have a passion for aviation and members’ interests, but also have the experience to govern a modern business that manages risk, oversees a large remit, and understands the duties of being a Director. We are incredibly fortunate to have people that fit this bill, so congratulations go to our members for electing such a diligent group of Directors. As a CEO it’s typical to report to the Board through the Chairman, and during my tenure this has been Michael Monck. I can honestly say that Mick’s passion, commitment and tenacious approach for members is unwavering. Although he also has a ‘day job’, he regularly puts in 20-30 hours a week of his own time to make this organisation great. He has been a terrific mentor to me, and as a member of RAAus I am immensely grateful to have someone like him leading our Board. I’m really proud of what we’ve achieved in the past three years. Whilst coming out of COVID was a challenge with our staff working from home through lockdowns, we continued to provide uninterrupted service to members, managed to implement Part 149, put systems in place to maintain assurance, finally got Group G over the line, and above all, strived to enable our members to operate with as little fuss as possible. Thank you to those many members who have interacted positively, shared war stories, had a laugh with me, and supported the direction of RAAus. Just as importantly, thank you to those members that respectfully shared their grievances or concerns with me to enable us to work towards a solution. I can honestly say I worked as hard as I could to achieve this. The Board will communicate with the membership their plans for my successor in due course. Whomever this may be, I wish them well and for RAAus, the success it deserves. Finally, I’d like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a safe holiday season. Fly safely and I hope to see you around the traps! Matt

It reminds me of the two 737 max crashes.

A cowl flap is the go for maximum speed. I seem to recall some of us said the original cooling system would not be successful.

I was admitted. Basically RAAus legal found there was no valid resolutions from the previous meeting and the meeting was closed. Today's meeting lasted less time than it took to type this.

ATSB preliminary report. Possible VFR into IMC. https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2023/report/ao-2023-052

My RV6a would be eligible for group G but I will not be changing because, it will cost more, I would have to repaint the rego and the paint is very beautiful now, I need to retain my casa license to fly the mighty Musketeer. Maintenance does not change. The only reason to change would be if one cannot get a class 2 medical.

That is indeed the case Spacesailor, we had Steiger tractors with straight pipe Cat 14litre 3406 turbo diesels and they were fairly quiet. I think the noise produced also has a lot to do with cam timing. Straight pipe Lycoming engines are not head turning due mild cam timing.

Low flying is only one way to kill yourself or innocent passengers. As a new pilot by reading you can become aware of the other common scenarios. We don't get this from RAAus so I would encourage you to read at the ATSB. https://www.atsb.gov.au/aviation-investigation-reports

Another example https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2022/aair/ao-2022-027

I believe all pilots should be reading all the accident reports applicable to their class of operation. I was aware of the Maule power line "accident".

We had a test pilot speak at one of our aero club dinners a few years back. One of his jobs was the Southern Cross replica, I think he described it as challenging.

Just swap the Oring to your old one.

I dont think that is the case here. Van's outsourced to meet increased demand. With the benefit of hind sight they should have just increased the kit price to make the company profitable or more so which may have subdued demand to the point where the out sourcing was not necessary. They are not selling lowest cost widgets, it is a niche product with strong demand. Most successful kit manufacturer and I think it will remain so. Van's total performance, it is a real thing.

Mmm, if it does indeed cruise at 150knots indicated on 80hp that would be beyond Vne? Perhaps the ASI came from a different aircraft.

The way I see it if management had been managing the kit prices for those in the queue now would have been somewhat higher. The cost is what it is, you have to pay to play.

As a Van's aircraft owner I see this as a positive.