TechMan

Interesting feedback and comments so far. As it is, there is a serious lack of education availability in the maintenance field for RA-Aus pilots, and yes I do agree that distinctions should be introduced. Someone with expert knowledge on rag and tube aircraft should not be signing out a composite beast if they know nothing about the material. A basic airworthiness course with the GFA, which mainly gets you a replacement of components rating on the type of aircraft you worked on, is 10 solid days! And that is from 9am to 9pm every day. I have tried to get TAFE to respond to the maintenance course that they have come up with and set some dates but don't receive any replies back. The LSA repairmans course is being looked into, though once again it will come down to who is actually going to man the show and teach? Something needs to happen, though how we tackle it is still the difficult bit. Chris

For those wishing to import their own BRS/GRS ballistic chutes, please contact RA-Aus before you do. It is a long process and delicate issue and needs to be handled correctly, so as not to spoil it for everyone else. As an individual importer you could end up in hot water with the authorities. Importers have gone to great lengths to ensure that the processes used to import are acceptable to the authorities. My advice is to buy a BRS/GRS from an authorised importer/distributor. Chris

Bill Whitney sells a DVD set on aircraft design. I don't have the details on me at the moment, though it is around $115 for the set of 4 DVD's and advertised in pacific flyer I think. Chris

Hi Mike, You are correct in saying that an aircraft under LSA can only be modified with the manufacturers approval. A SLSA which falls down to ELSA can go back to SLSA, though the manufacturer needs to sign off compliance that the aircraft meets the standard and that they are happy with it. With pretty much all of the manufacturers being overseas, my guess is that that would be an impossibility to achieve. LSA will never be the 'bee's knee's' in Australia because we have had a system here that has worked and our weights have been incremented over time. The US has not had that which is possibly why LSA is the rage over there. LSA in Aus will be of most benefit to manufacturers as they can self certify. Chris

Pretty close - the fixed pitch requirement is for the USA. Australia does not have that requirement - only fixed gear. We also do not have a speed limit of 120kts like the US. The only speed limit we (Aus) have, is for gliders. The Jab J160C factory built is Type Certified (CASA) and accepted under CAO95.55 1.6, 1.7 To date we only have the J230C as SLSA registered and one J230 as ELSA (experimental LSA, built from a kit) from Jabiru. Chris

Aircraft operating under CAO95.32 shall be maintained and operated in accordance with the RA-Aus Tech and Operations Manuals. Section 3.5.2 of the Tech Manual stipulates that aircraft operating under CAO95.32 cannot be modified without CASA or CAR35 approval. Therefore, it is not permissible to put a different wing onto a base if: a) The wing is not defined in the Type Certificate Data Sheet for the aircraft, or; b) There is no Engineering Order signed by a CAR35, or approval from CASA, to allow the fitment of a wing, not mentioned in the type certificate, to the base. As it is a known common practice that weight shift pilots change wings, it is very difficult to control. It is however, easier to inspect in flying school operations, and your insurance company (if you have insurance) will no doubt check the aircraft and find the smallest detail they can to get out of paying for the damage. Chris

Yes, thats the one. Chris

Try the Eurofox and Bushbaby also. Chris

Tony, I have forwarded your email to the board members email addresses as they appear in the latest RA-Aus magazine. Seem to have worked for me with no bounce backs... (only 2 board members use an internal RA-Aus email address - Lynn Jarvis and Dave Caban) Chris

Ozzie, Can you expand on what rulings you are referring to? Chris

Tony, I have nothing against re-allocating the 25-0001 number to 086-128 personally, though it will be a board decision to do so. For reasons that I do not know, as it was before my time, the board had voted not to reallocate the number at a prior meeting. I can only suggest that people do indeed contact their board members and get them to ask the question again. I can only prepare documentation in advance to cover any questions that they may have, which I will do. Chris

British International Trading have all sorts. Tel 02 9674 4566 Bearing Rd Seven Hills 2146 [email protected] http://www.racetechsteel.com/ Chris

Wright Flyer launch.

Counteract the imbalance that the fish tank has aquired on one side due to standing on the ops and tech manuals??

This is a curly one which leaves the door open for possibly no action to come of it. At the moment, Rotax and Jab engines are accepted for the purpose. We do however get some calls regarding other engines such as BMW, Subaru, KFM etc. I will need to follow this up with CASA and get a direction from them in writing, though verbally I was informed that an engine accepted by CASA for our purposes would be one that the manufacturer says is an eligible install. Considering that most engines are installed in either one or the other aircraft, one could argue the point that all engines are fit for the purpose, though like I said, I would need to get that in writing first. Will keep at them..just another one to get an answer on.. Chris

Congrats Ian. It is one of the best forums I have been associated with from the point of view of involvement from its members. Keep up the good work. Chris

Hi UL, Reporting can be done by fax, email or snail mail at the moment. Hopefully, later on in the year I will be able to implement an online reporting option for those that wish to use it. JL, I will ask the chief what the policy is regarding publishing of the final report on the web. If it has been done before, it should continue, even if it is distressing to people near to the victims. Will get back to you on this. Chris

In the interest of aviation safety, possible saving of other like aircraft and pilots lives, I am still yet to try and encourage the mentality that reporting is a good thing which can provide useful info. Currently, I know of numerous accidents, some fairly substantial, that have not been reported, but I have no idea why the pilots are hiding. Yeah, ok, you stuffed up, so what. If you are legal to fly the aircraft and you happen to suffer from human err, there should be no reason not to report your error. Perhaps your error can save someone else? If you are not legal to fly the aircraft, then perhaps you do have a reason to hide, but rest assured that the aviation community is smaller than one gives it credit for and word travels faster than the current series of bush fires we are having. Personally, I would take my chances with the sport org rather than dealing with CASA's hounds. Any ideas on how we can slowly alter the mentality of aviators to acknowledge that reporting IS important? One would think that it should start in flying schools, but then again, sometimes things don't go wrong in flying schools to a degree that reporting is necessary, so the student misses out on that experience. It needs to also come from peers and the ordinary day to day pilots. Just a quandry that I have. ps. If you are one of those pilots that has not sent a report in and you know you should have, please do so. The form is available from the RA-Aus site. Chris

Hi Andy, I believe the Texan has been tested to LSA standard and beyond. From memory, 640g is the current design limit. I have not seen any test data to back that up, though if it is registered LSA in the US, then the factory is putting their neck on the block, so I would assume that they have done their homework properly. (Although, a lot of US importers state themselves as being the manufacturer, so it falls back on them). Chris

Yes, the Texans are limited to 454kg in Australia. The procedure is fairly simple in that the aircraft requires a Type Certificate to be imported as a factory built aircraft and be allowed to be used for training purposes. Yes, the 450kg limit is a European Legislative limit. However, CASA has accepted documentation signed and stamped by the NAA (not the factory!) of the manufacturing country if it states that the NAA has witnessed and accepted testing data on the aircraft that shows it can handle a higher MTOW. In the case of the Texan, it is up to the factory and the Italian CAA (ENAC) to get together and sort it out. The requirements have been given to them. The only other saviour is the LSA category, but then it is up to the factory whether or not they will sign a statement of compliance for existing aircraft. The smartest option would be option 1, getting a letter from ENAC, as when Part 103 comes in, there will be a 600kg possibility across our aircraft under which the Texan could operate quite happily (and legally!). Chris

Hi Scotty, Try Ian Mcphee for ASI coloured decals. They are sourced from Winter instruments, but he re-sells them here. http://www.mrsoaring.com Also perhaps try Borgelt instruments in Toowoomba. Not sure if he has any, but might do. http://www.borgeltinstruments.com Chris

The Dynamic is based at Lilydale VIC I believe. I can ask the owner of the Polaris FK14 to contat you if you give me your details via PM. Both aircraft are very pretty things and both very competitive in the upper end pricing ;) Chris

Hi All, this in today, a crankcase failure on a 912ULS with 680hrs. Be sure to keep your engine clean and check it thoroughly all the time. Know your aircraft. Chris

I would recommend minimalistic colours due to heat build up. But then again, I like the understated aircraft. :-) Chris

Indeed it does. My father sold his Glider shortly before we came to Aus. It obviously did not like living in Ladysmith as 5 weeks later there was nothing left of the hangar and or the aircraft inside it. Chris