Earl Pike

Stevron, My comments were not an attack on you,I am sure every organisation has people with limited communication skills, and you encountered such an individual here. Who for some reason at the time was reluctant to engage. Your initial comments reflected on PAA as a community, as did your subsequent comment. However, our website has eperienced an increase in traffic, as has interest in our fly in. Without this thread, I feel that there are any number of people who may not have known about our endeavours. So, all is not lost, and thank you for bringing Porepunkah to the front of aviation discussion. If you get to Porepunkah, ask for me.....

Stevron, You are very quick witted I must admit, so I shan’t engage you in a battle of intellect. We are welcoming at Porepunkah, and have been making efforts to improve the profile of the the facility. We will be conducting a fly in to aid bushfire relief in April, the details are on our website, www.ypok.org.au. Looking forward to seeing you, and any one else there, to assist in the economic recovery of Bright and the surrounding communities,

I fly out of Porpepunka, and am an active member of the Porepunkah Airport Association. Sounds like an unfortunate encounter, perhaps the glider pilot may have been offended by a nonresident telling him how to run the airport.....

Stevron, you mention Porepunka in your opening comments. A quick flight up the Kiewa Valley from Albury. I am a hangar owner at Porepunkah and delighted to say the local council has a strong commitment to the airport. Alpine shire is responsible for Mount Beauty and Porepukah fields, both of which would have to be among the most scenic in Australia. The Shire released more land at the north end of Porepunkah a year or so ago, and I was fortunate enough to secure a lot, 12 x 20 mtrs. Hangar owners lease the land from the council, based on the area of the hangar. During construction of some of the new hangars, a drainage issue was discovered, that could impact on hangar construction. To the Shires credit, drainage of the entire new release has been undertaken, with a sealed taxi-way. At the Shire's expense. New hangars will be required to install sub drainage connected to the master drainage system. The landing fee charged to visiting aircraft, by donation goes directly to airport running costs, as does leasing fees, administered by Porepunkah Airport Association. My hangar lease includes exemption from landing fees, and all my costs are less than half I paid for rental space at Yarrawonga. Anyone looking for a council, sympathetic to aviation, need look no further than Porepunkah and Mount Beauty.

?? Ssshhhh, You might wake it up.

I think it’s dead Jim,

I’m about to throw a fet, lock, you all out. But the you might put me down.

It’s all true I tell ya, I said to the owner “Why the long face”

Only when he is jockeying for position

You are all just trying to stirrup trouble...

The poor owner has been saddled with a huge repair bill

I did not intend this thread to be a race to the finish

????

I was in the paint shop, at an airport in regional northern Victoria and saw a Jabiru 230. Apparently, the plane had parked in a paddock overnight and was grazed upon by a horse. The leading edges of the tail and main wings had significant damage down to the glass, through the paint and gel coat. I don’t know the owner, so I haven’t posted photos or named the paint shop. This is the second time I have seen horse damage by horses. When I was training at Lilydale, some years ago, a horse ate the vinyl roof of a rather good Ford LTD. So, beware the curious horse.

Well done Thruster88. A great place to fly. Good friendly airfield community, ranging from hang gliding, paragliding, gliding, micro lights, GA and RA. Close to Wangaratta, Brown Bros. at Milawa, Mount Beauty, Shepparton and a little further to Deniliquin. All active and welcoming flying groups.

That’s my hangar, bottom left. Good wine, food and adventure.The mountains could be clue.

Late last year my PLB failed to light on test. The three flashing lights failed to flash. Following conventional wisdom I brought a new one, a bargain at $356. A couple of months ago, I thought I had better dispose of the old one responsibly and set about removing the batteries for proper disposal. I was surprised that there were no anti tamper screws or glued components, three coarse plastic screws and that was it. Two 6 volt batteries piggy backed on the circuit board and the whole lot just slid out, further to my surprise the batteries had a replacement date, a quick look on line, $25.75 each. Bugger!! I noticed the battery plugs looked just like the plugs on the batteries in my R/C boat. Beauty! A look on line about charging lithium manganese batteries revealed nothing sinister, on the charger they went. I tested the charger and batteries for heat production, and nope, nothing. After a couple of hours, the batteries read 6.3 volts, two days later, 6.3volts. Reassembled, and three months later, three big flashes on test. Now I have two PLBs, one in the plane, one on the trail bike. I think I investigate a bit deeper next time rather than rely on on line forums.

You are not wrong, I nearly choked.

Just had my yearly/100 hourly done, J 230, $ 530, LAME had it all day. Just had my wife's Volvo done, C70, had breakfast while it was being done, $1300, 2 hours. No flying, is not expensive.

Flying an aeroplane is very much like motorcycling. It is physics, finesse and being one step ahead. Similar to downhill mountain biking, down hill skiing and snow boarding. There is no thinking about work, the mortgage, what the kids are doing. That is where you are, right there in the moment, occupying every part of your thoughts and actions. It is called concentration, a fantastic drug. You will love it. Fly every thing you can.

Thank you for your comments John. My model has a wing span of 530 mm, and is made entirely of scrap. The only cost was the can of appliance enamel, and I must admit that I have a pretty well equiped work shop. I did did look at Factory Direct Models, but the conversion from US dollars to Au dollars was a bit scary for something that the grandkids like to "fly around". The full size 230D is a pleasure to fly, fast, reliable and predictable, rugged and good to look at. Take care and fly safe. Earl

I am the very proud owner of a J 230D, and have been looking to find a model to display. There are some available,but cost a month's hangarage. So I down loaded images from the Jabiru website, enlarged them, glued them on to some wood and started carving and sanding. Finished in fridge paint and contact pinstripping, I think it came up a treat.

I noticed the plane move just after start up. It can't be torque reaction, so it must be the pilot adjusting his huge cods.

I agree with Nev, that check lists are generic, almost universal, regardless of the aircraft. My wife and I were embarking on a helicopter flight out of Port Douglas to a sand spit on the reef, quite an adventure. The pilot, he looked to be at least 14, began his check list, which I automatically joined in on "hatches and harnesses". The pilot laughed, and asked did I fly. I answered "yes" , explained my experience, and as a result, we had a flight a little better than the usual. The checked list differed, but was easily recognisable in relation to intent.