Ballpoint 246niner

As Dick Gower says- "Horoscope with numbers" so here goes. Unsettled Friday, clearing saturday, cooler and clear Sunday Monday. Now this is what the weather guys will say" Mostly fine with a chance of an isolated shower, winds light in the morning with a possible storm in the afternoon" Read into that each way bet any way you want!

Well done and deserved Wayne. Looking forward to a better RA.

If you had a plane you could get the "fly'ed" rice!!!!

Hey Rank, was down your way last week via Warialda delivering a Sav XL to Mudgee, country is looking great!

I said 5 years ago when the Narromine move was on the table that a central/ northern NSW coastal location like Evans head would be the go. Over 80 percent of us live east of the great divide and this is more geographically central than Temora, yes- the Vic boys would complain but all the FNQ boys miss out except Maj,whose just a go getter. A major change in thinking needs to happen if RA is to flourish again with a national fly in, especially in light of so many negatives in the organisation this year.

Above Doco's live on our student table at the school- compulsory reading like all AIP's and CAAP's

Finally a story on the right side of the decision matrix

Spot on DJP, we operate at a very bust non towered AD and lookout is paramount.Pilots inevitably don't see every aircraft, but if they are not actively looking and adopting regimented lookout patterns then this is unforgivable. I don't rest if I know one is in threat area and I haven't got a visual. A common one I see is pilots in high wing aircraft fail to present at 45degrees at the threshold holding point, thereby blanking the view of final and late base before line up. It's a regular occurrence and there have been many "discussions" over the years. Best not blurted out over the radio though. Another is pilots unfamiliar with airfields and published contra cct operations, barging downwind or base in the opposite direction to cct direction. Finally the mid field crosswind joiner, cutting off existing downwind traffic with poor lookout again the culprit. Lookout and live should be the Mantra of every pilot in VFR operations.

Scott, said it before your work is truly stunning- if the mags aren't paying you they've got rocks in their heads. Thank you mate....

Ahh Peter, my little 120 was there even if I wasn't, well done Pete,GREAT SHOT!! glad you made it, we're using any good weather to get our students back in the air. We almost had wet enough conditions over the last 3 weeks to apply for float plane endorsement at YCAB!! Well done Trev- you once again pull off the impossible in spite of the weather!

Hang in there Paul, this weekend WILL be fine! We flew today and Al has mown a huge 50m smiley in the 12 undershoot, looks awesome on final, we land on it this weekend!

You got it mate, there's a heap of people all over Oz doing the hard yards, best part is I love what I do. What's the line "Love over gold "

Running a flight school..... Full time hours (and then some) Casual part time wages (at best) No hols, no super, no sick leave, no benefits..... Pretty clear whose not getting it!

Rolf, I've just re read and concur. Ill try to summarise and be concise, and just to establish cred I've bee around two stroke aircraft, owned 3 and tuned and raced many bikes as well. EGT measures how hot the burn is at the exhaust. Measurement is an important way to monitor if the fuel/ air mixture is acceptable in flight. 2 strokes can suffer badly, even catastrophically if too hot/ lean/ or without sufficient lubrication, far more so than 4 strokes. A training aircraft must meet all legal requirements for commercial operation and if you are in doubt you should definitely investigate this before flying the aircraft in question.

Nev is spot on in his reply... Take note and don't let your enthusiasm to fly be your undoing......

Frank- I'll pre-empt Maj's reply.... basically yes, but it depends on whether it was 2 shot system ( std), SOS single operating system, RSL reserve static line, and whether it was equipped with an AAD. This and how the cutaway of the main was performed can have a big bearing on the reserve deployment. As I mentioned in another thread some time ago, I once had a RSL accidently deploy my reserve into a perfectly good main- 2 chutes out not a good situation for a tangle....

Blue Skies and Bloodshot eyes RIP

Thanks All should be ready in 1-2 weeks, ill let everyone interested know by PM, pretty pertinent ironically in light of the tragic week we've had. Regards,

There's some really good stuff in that article link by PB. A couple of things I would like us to consider as MUST do's ..(IMHO), or a variation of the same The FINAL four: FUEL!- On FIRE!- Ignitions ON HATCHES!-secure HARNESS - secure before every line up, read thirty years of accidents and see how many of these pop up- LOTS QUESTION ? if it fails on THIS take off, based on these conditions and surroundings WHERE WILL I GO? AND ALWAYS LOWER THE NOSE IMMEDIATELY AIRSPEED IS CONTROL!!!! Last thing verbalised first thing in recent memory. ROLLING- full Pwr & Airspeed alive- is it working in my favour before I get airborne. Where's my reject point? CLIMB OUT - AAOOK Are we? (climbing),Airspeed,Options,Outside(lookout)Keep climbing, repeat, repeat..... Now all of this is just to help stimulate discussion, see you own instructor/ school and make sure you have a plan with priorities, how you do it, why it matters etc, and make it an unbreakable habit. lets see what discussion this can generate?

I'm putting together a short course for qualified pilots to focus on emergency procedures, rather than wallow in the gloom and uncertainty I firmly believe we should all sharpen the saw and do some serious practice, empowerment through currency and learning.

Sorry stuffed up on quote ref Head- no my apologies, the reply was not aimed at you and I respect everything you have said, it would just be nice if people would stop speculating about instruction, engine failures, gazelles ADs etc and just look at the bigger picture. Granted, not everyone will be in possession of all the facts , and those that are looking for some Messiac answer as to what caused it so they can fly safer, won't find it here. My hours must be managed in accordance with all CASR 's just like any commercial operator, and they are, and will with stand any audit. Someone who transits the area on a once a year sojourn, hardly is apt to comment on the area'' s geography( not you in this case!). Accidents such as these, with media coverage, continue to sway public perception of the safety of aviation,particularly RA, and that affects all of us in some way or other, some more than others, whether we like it or not, we share the privilege and responsibility together. Please every one be vigilant and note the coroners report on this one, my understanding is ATSB is not investigating. Please do however leave an appropriate flight note/ SAR with someone, even for local flights. Safety starts the minute you decide to go to the airfield.....

Motz, this just posted on their Facebook page,..... I put up with dogs barking in my estate every night, not during the day when most people should and are working, Airfields, and the pilots have a community right to exercise their activities. They DONT do break ins, don't have loud parties at night, don't, race cars and bikes up & down the streets etc. They provide many people of varied ages the opportunity to share a life dream, to be responsible, to build careers and to contribute in a positive manner to society. Are these attribute and activities we want in our communities, I would hope the answers are unanimously YES. If it makes more noise than the Sunday lawn mowing in your area, then sure address it, but otherwise embrace it- the alternatives you may truly regret, and remember most pilots would be more than happy to share the joy of flight with you, for free, or very little cost, who knows- you just may get to life from a different perspective,

Head- no my apologies, the reply was not aimed at you and I respect everything you have said, it would just be nice if people would stop speculating about instruction, engine failures, gazelles ADs etc and just look at the bigger picture. Granted, not everyone will be in possession of all the facts , and those that are looking for some Messiac answer as to what caused it so they can fly safer, won't find it here. My hours must be managed in accordance with all CASR 's just like any commercial operator, and they are, and will with stand any audit. Someone who transits the area on a once a year sojourn, hardly is apt to comment on the area'' s geography( not you in this case!). Accidents such as these, with media coverage, continue to sway public perception of the safety of aviation,particularly RA, and that affects all of us in some way or other, some more than others, whether we like it or not, we share the privilege and responsibility together. Please every one be vigilant and note the coroners report on this one, my understanding is ATSB is not investigating. Please do however leave an appropriate flight note/ SAR with someone, even for local flights. Safety starts the minute you decide to go to the airfield....

[quote="Head in tthink there are matters that need some discussion to help prevent this kind of thing happening again. I'm assuming that the verified 800'AGL referred to above was when the Gazelle dropped off radar and so we can probably assume that the engine trouble began prior to that, and at a greater height. Is there any indication from the radar flightpath and alt of where and when the engine trouble began? I went to the Beerburrum-Woodford Rd on Google Earth, dropped my elevation down to 800ft/260m, If you had engine problems at woodford, why would you head nth east over heavily forested areas and then when questioned on radio as to your relative location (for separation) by another aircraft just say"you were "descending below them" and not declare a PAN or MATDAY? As to weather, I fly over a 1000 hrs a year in the area under the CTA LL of 3500, there are numerous safe landing options over hundreds of safe paddocks despite the forestry areas, but like all coastal transition areas weather can change but you just manage this as a competent pilot maintaining VMC. If you're not sure go do a refresh with your local school, it may just help you!

Glide distance arc from a verified 800 ft AGL with 8:1 glide ratio makes for a small area in relative terms, we scanned the area earlier that morning before the search grids were established and late when they weren't active in the area- the real talent for these guys is how they actually spot wreckage, it really was a pin in a (pine) needle stack- they truly are very talented at their jobs. Only three pine trees had about 10' knocked from their tops, it would have been so hard to spot.