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Mick

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Everything posted by Mick

  1. I don't think that Stinsons are any more prone to poor take performance than any other old aircraft. Older aircraft may be more prone as over time all aircraft put on weight ( accumulated dirt, oil & grease ) and also older motors may not make their rated horsepower anymore. As mentioned before I have a mate who has a Stinson 108 ( same as both these videos ), his was built in 1947. His take off performance is fine but he operates it wihin it's limits. I have been in the back seat of it with 2 guys in the front, all up we ( pilot & passengers ) weighed over 300kg. This meant we only had required fuel + reserves but we got off no problems at all. The Stinson is a classic aircraft that when treated right is a great fun machine.
  2. Motz, you will not succeed in convincing me that is purely coincidence that operations that bend rules are the places where accidents like this occur. While training I was not allowed anywhere near a spinning prop. I truely believe that is a resposibility of the training organization or at least the pilot in command, especially with a new "european backpacking pilot" on a "TIF". I would expect that in most cases like this complacency would be a major factor which would be the resposibility of the person involved not the organisation.
  3. I seem to cross him numerous times on every X-Country I do. Never hang around for long though, just bump into him then off I goes on my merry way again!
  4. Met, That is all well & good but when an organisation operating in such a manner allows said backpacker to walk into a spinning prop it becomes a whole different thing. In this case the young lady was lucky and only spent a few days in hospital and did not loose a life or limb. Yet again the toothless tiger that is RAAus allows this school to continue to operate.
  5. Some coastal scenery for the backpacker, maybe some sort of european scenery for the instructor?
  6. That's a horrible situation to end up in, with no option but to ride it in. I can't help but think the pilot may have made an earlier decision when the lack of performance was becoming apparent. I think he had a few opportunities to put down in much friendlier spots than where they eventually went down. Good to see all survived, shame to loose a nice old aeroplane though. A good mate of mine owns one of these, nice old bus!
  7. All too often this happens without the politician even knowing of the issue at hand, so no chance of influencing the decision. We have had infastructure constructed at our airport that the council ( airport owners ) were not even aware of.
  8. You mean like the Coastal Qld school taking a young female German Backpacker on a "TIF"? I really believed that she was going to learn to fly during her probably 2 day stay in the town. All sort of attracts attention when the girl walks into the still running prop as she exits the aircraft. Lucky I was only dreaming otherwise something else might have been swept under the carpet.
  9. The exemption to a class 2 medical for GA using the newly approved "Drivers License ( aviation )" has proven to not resemble a drivers license medical at all. It is more like a Class 2 medical but with the examination carried out by your GP instead of a DAME. It definitively excludes insulin dependant diabetics.
  10. Not to mention it could take years to learn to fly in VFR conditions in the UK. Can you do Ab Initio IFR?
  11. In a good year I will do 80+ hours and my wife will do close to 50. When doing those sort of hours it is definitely worth owning. However the last couple of years have not been like that. I am about to do an annual and in the last year the Skylark has only done 39 hours. But where we live there are no RAAus aircraft available for hire so it is still worth owning or we would not have flown at all. Also in alot of cases it is not easy to hire an aircraft to go away for a week or 2. Justifying ownership is definitely alot easier when the minister for finance flies too! Ok, I mean the Prime Minister as the only port folio's I hold are the minster of aviation & transport.
  12. Please note that all these rules are numbered 1. This is deliberate because rule #1 is whichever is most applicable at the time!
  13. Part of the reason I want the speed is that the quicker you can get there the less exposed you are to unforseen weather. The longer the trip the more likely conditions will change. The most common trip I do takes 6-6.5 hours at 115kts, done in two stages with a fuel / food stop on the way. For me that is more than enough flying for a day. At say 80kts it would be well in excess of what I want to do in a day. Yes I do really like flying, but I am always wary of the fact that with flying you have to be at your best at the end of the trip to land at a not so familiar strip in conditions that will not always be as nice as when you left home. This when you are starting to risk battling fatigue. When it comes to flying for fun I can stooge around at 75-80kt, but when travelling it is nice to get there quick.
  14. Boingk, I am used to 115kt cruise with 4+ hours endurance excluding reserves The Skylark is very roomy and ideally suited to tall pilots, it is just what I have done to my shoulders that is the problem. I flew this aicraft for 4 years comfortably before my injury.
  15. I have not received my mag yet so have not seen the contents of this. Why does it need 75% of vote to be successful? .
  16. I won't own anything with their engine, I have seen with my own eyes way to many problems.
  17. Hey Nev, it will take some getting used to, I have over 500 hours and only about 10 of them in high wings. Re the tail wheel - I would love to, but I really need something reasonably quick ( I do a fair bit of X-Country ) and it seems high wing + tail wheel + fast don't often go together.
  18. Much as I love the Skylark, I have buggered my shoulders and while I keep climbing in & out of this aircraft they will only continue to get worse. Soon the Skylark will be on the market & I will be looking at something that I find easier to get in & out of, ie not have to lower myself down into a low wing. Looks like I'll be shopping for a high wing.
  19. On account of the fact that I have no money
  20. Monocoupe 110 Special
  21. I would have thought these guys would be well below the VFR lane
  22. Also this...... http://www.news.com.au/national/plan-to-bring-red-bull-air-race-to-gold-coast/story-fndo4eg9-1226442838701 .
  23. Found this on the net. Looks like the race may be on again in 2014, but where it will be in Oz is not settled. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/victoria-eyes-red-bull-air-race-over-albert-park/story-e6frf7kx-1226441807379
  24. Hi Maj Not sure whether it is still available but there was an L-4 at Caboolture that you could do tailwheel endorsments in ( I know you already have that ) and private hire. This particular aircraft served with the RAAF in New Guinea which adds another degree of interest. I would love to fly this one someday, might be the only warbird I ever get to fly. .
  25. I believe that the reason this was stopped is that people were abusing the rule and putting the second seat back in and using it. Aircraft that had already been registered RAAus with a seat removed have been allowed to keep that registration on a grandfather clause, but no more will be allowed. I am sure that this was mentioned in the Tech Managers coloumn in the mag some time ago.
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