Glenn Wilson

Not many people call me 'sir', Sir Mick. And thank you for your very good advice. Initially I was planning a flight up Fraser and overnighting at Orchid Beach Resort - but that's looking not so hot but still in the mix. Your alternatives have been noted and will be tossed in to the final plan. Would love to come and met you guys. Do you speak Victorian?

Not that there is anything wrong with flying open cockpit aircraft in Victoria in June (not much anyway), a group of Microlight/trike and gyro pilots are planning to head to Far North Queensland in June 2018. Our rough planned route takes in the following places - Holbrook, Narromine, Tenterfield, Tyagarah, Caboolture, 1770/Agnes Waters, Airlie Beach/Shute Harbour, Blue Water Park, Atherton, Port Douglas, Lyndhurst, Muttaburra, Longreach, Emerald, Carnarvon Gorge, St George, Lightning Ridge, Narromine and back to Holbrook. We will have vehicle support along the way. What I am keen to hear is your local knowledge about places to fly to, places to land and places to stay generally along the way. There will be five to eight aircraft and maybe ten to twelve people in the group. We are hoping to mix accommodation up with some camping and some motel/hotel/cabin accommodation. Any advice and hot tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Not that there is anything wrong with flying open cockpit aircraft in Victoria in June (not much anyway), a group of Microlight/trike and gyro pilots are planning to head to Far North Queensland in June 2018. Our rough planned route takes in the following places - Holbrook, Narromine, Tenterfield, Tyagarah, Caboolture, 1770/Agnes Waters, Airlie Beach/Shute Harbour, Blue Water Park, Atherton, Port Douglas, Lyndhurst, Muttaburra, Longreach, Emerald, Carnarvon Gorge, St George, Lightning Ridge, Narromine and back to Holbrook. We will have vehicle support along the way. What I am keen to hear is your local knowledge about places to fly to, places to land and places to stay generally along the way. There will be five to eight aircraft and maybe ten to twelve people in the group. We are hoping to mix accommodation up with some camping and some motel/hotel/cabin accommodation. Any advice and hot tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

The other thread didn't really come to any conclusion - just a bunch of opinions and a video of a guy doing it. From what I make of all that is, yes, they can be hand started.

I was directed to this thread after my recent query about hand starting a 912. No definitive answer here apart from a LAME discredit of the Youtube guy actually hand starting his. Smoke and mirrors? It started and that is good enough for me.

I was told the other week that you can't hand start a 912. The explanation given was that with the reduction gearbox.......... Not had too much experience with them but I know how easily the O300 I used to sit behind used to pop into life with a well timed pull on the prop. What's the verdict? Am I being fed a porky or does this person's idea hold merit? ps, this came about while he was turning the prop over without checking ignition and/or master switches.

Fly Tornado, is that a photo of Sussan Ley on your profile?

Hello Mike Ping me an email and I'll put you on the list of potential starters - or en-route tag-alongs. The local knowledge and the snorkeling sound perfect :) Cheers Glenn

MoU :) RAA MoU ver 10 rev Aug 2015.pdf RAA MoU ver 10 rev Aug 2015.pdf RAA MoU ver 10 rev Aug 2015.pdf

Send me Send me an email rht and I'll put you on the update list. :)

Not p Not planned at this stage as the mission is aimed at those who can have some funadventure without getting too far out into the boonies.

Unless the Sportstar is a weightshif microlight and can be registered and flown under both the HGFA and the RAAus banners then it is irreverent in the context of this conversation.

I always say that the truth lies at the end of the excuses. I guess by your replies Turbo, you are accepting a silly situation whilst acknowledging that it is silly and without putting up constructive suggestions as to how to rectify the silly situation. Analogies aside, what would you suggest apart 'just having to make your choice and do your training". How about if a HGFA trained and very experienced WS pilot comes and visits and wants to fly a RAAus trike in my care, and I have to say no - becus de rules is de rules!

Except that this is in the one country, with the one set of flying rules for WS aircraft and two organisations that for some unfathonable reason/s want to hang on to their little patch and not even acknowledge the skills that the members of the other org have. Is it smart and efficient or even safe to have this standoff Turbo?

So both the HGFA and the RAAus oversee and regulate the operation of weightshift microlights/trikes. Both organisations have signed a long standing Memorandum of Understanding to standardise the training of WS pilots, the operation of training schools and the registration of WS aircraft. Whether or not both organisations take this MoU seriously is borne out by the results. It does seem pretty ludicrous (or the result of bloody-minded bureaucracy) that one person trained under one banner cannot fly a WS aircraft registered with the other and vice versa. It's like something out of Fawlty Towers and Yes Minister. And this is DESPITE both organisations using the same insurance company for cover of members and the public!!! Is this what our membership fees and aircraft registration fees pay for? I know executives from both organisations read this forum. I would invite both to explain in clear simple terms what they are going to do, and when they are going to do it, to be smart and sensible and resolve this silly, petty and long standing standoff. HGFA and RAAus - over to you guys (and girls).

Microlight/Trike Trek - Southern NSW to Far North Queensland May-June 2018 Hello Southern state microlight/trike pilots - and anyone else who might like to join in. How about flying north to Far North Queensland on a four week flying based adventure? A support vehicle will accompany the group to carry fuel, supplies, personal belongings and spares and will be used to transfer the group to and from airfields to accommodation, and to and from tours and attractions along the way. Support vehicle costs will be shared by the participants. Accommodation will be a mix of some on-airfield camping, cabins, lodge and motel, depending on location, weather and budget. Apart from stunning scenery, snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef, QANTAS Museum and Stockman’s Hall of Fame at Longreach, a beach landing or two, the Daintree, rainforests meeting the ocean, crocodiles and other wildlife will supplement the experience of the best time to be in the air in this part of the country. Departure Point: Holbrook NSW Turnaround Point: Cooktown FNQ Interested? Email [email protected]

This issue may have been done to death in the past but as I am considering returning to sport aviation I am going to put it out there to see what your views are. A lot of people are pulled or pushed through the air by Rotax engines. And while this is generally about all the popular models available today, it is more specifically about 582s. The price of a new 582 is around $7000 to $8000 plus or minus a few variables. To overhaul a 582 has been quoted at between $5000 and $5500, plus the cost of removal and reinstallation and freight to and from the overhaul facility. For the sake of a thousand or two dollars, a new engine looks like reasonable value compared to an overhauled one. The TBO (time between overhaul) is, according to Rotax literature, 300 hours. Some organisations allow a 582 to run ‘on condition’ unless it is being used for training. This does not add up. A 300 hour TBO is roughly equivalent to 30,000 klms for a car engine. Hardly even run in. 30,000 klms on a Rotax powered BMW motorcycle is still low kilometres and imagine the outcry if a GS 800 needed an engine overhaul at 30, 40 or 50,000 klms. How many 582s are running up 500, 600 or even 1000 incident free hours? RAAus and the HGFA should have stats on this. Why is the TBO still 300 hours when I’m sure there is a verified history of many 582s running perfectly and within limits up to and past 500 hours? Either the engines are dodgy, or components in them are dodgy, or someone is ripping off someone, or has a virtual monopoly that is allowing them to ‘take advantage’ fiscally of the people whose aircraft are fitted with 582s. If the engines or engine components are dodgy then that would be reflected in the record of service difficulties or fault reports by the large number of people running 582s. Yes some of these engines fail pre 300 hours but in reality, not very many. So why then is a $7000+ Rotax 582 engine mandated for TBO at 300 hours? And why also have the HGFA and RAAus not resolved this financial burden on behalf of their members?

So it is now 2017 and the situation is still far from resolved or in any way a sensible solution in servicing the needs of weightshift pilots. Stasis is infectious. FFS! If two bodies that purport to represent sport (powered) flying can't sort this shambles out then they should all become politicians! Not impressed at all.

Hello Aviators Planning to get back in the air in a weightshift microlight.