Markproa

I did a Basic Class 2 medical last week and my GP bulk billed me so my all up medical cost was $10 to CASA.

Excellent, good result. I'm hoping to get a small panel radio at a reasonable price from Europe, there should be quite a few available soon. Cheers, Mark

Hi Skip, bummer about the epic Icom journey. I can relate to that well. Us fixers win some and lose some but we never seem to learn. I guess the wins are such a buzz we can't help ourselves. I have a IC A20 that is still going strong. What do you want for your 'bits'. Cheers, Mark

Or, if you have a few thousand hours spare you can always build your own out of wood.

Great comments Hongi and good on you Nic for answering the whingers with transparent facts. I tend to not use this forum for the reasons Hongi points out, way too much uninformed cynicism for my liking. Which is a shame because most overseas forums are not like that and it would be good to have a decent Australian forum discussing local issues with a similar level of intelligence. I suspect there is a silent majority who agree and it's the loud few who do all the talking, a bit like drunks in a pub. I've read some good useful stuff on this forum but it often degenerates into uninteresting personal opinion. I can go down the RSL to hear that.

My understanding is that it is all RAA and any VH experimental with an uncertified engine.

What about "stay above 1000 feet over built-up areas and within gliding distance of non built up area". That could restrict a few CTAs.

So how did that work? Didn't you have to get your GA licence current before doing the conversion? I'm in the same boat, 20 years since I flew but itching to get back into it. Mark

Personally I'd rather fly behind a water cooled modern diesel than an aircooled Lycoming or Continental with mags. Not sure how running an aero engine flat chat continuously is relevant but I think the engine would handle it but the turbo may not. Reduction is 1.66 to 1. This conversion was developed for Gaz'aile builders only. There are 50 Gaz'ailes flying, many with the DV4 diesel conversion, others with Toyotas, Jabarus, Rotax, BMWs, Vijas, VWs. But the original intent was to make a very cheap to run aircraft using diesels. Mark

I It's a DV6 diesel made by the European PSA group. They are used in Citroens, Peugeots, Mini Coopers, Volvos, Mazda 3, Fords etc. 1600cc, 8 valves, all alloy turbo. It started life as an HDi direct inject but that creates headaches with the electronics so the common rail has been pulled out and replaced with a distributor pump. Very simple and reliable. It has been tested to 93HP. The reduction drive has been used on a lot of Gaz'ailes in Europe without issue. [GALLERY=media, 4052]DV6 diesel engine by Markproa posted Jan 23, 2018 at 4:57 PM[/GALLERY]

95.55 MTOW is 600kg for landbase aircraft. Mark

OP here again. It's amazing how things can change from one day to the next. I bought the plans and was about to order materials for the Gaz'aile 2. I then got a call from the only other Gaz'aile builder in Australia who has decided he is not going to finish his plane due to age-related problems. He made me an offer I can't refuse so I've just bought an almost-finished aircraft. I'm going halves with another GA pilot and we have decided to register the plane GA. Why? We can fly it in and out of our local Coffs Harbour and other controlled airspaces*, and we won't need to get RA certificates. The downside is, I won't be able to maintain it myself as I didn't build 51%. Just need to find a LAME who will look at diesel engines. There is also an issue with MTOW and stall speeds. The plane was designed under the European 450kg MTOW and stalls under 45 knots however it has been engineered to have a MTOW up to 600kg which will put the stall speed higher than the RAA max. of 45 Knots. So, as has been pointed out by many here, RA vs GA is very much dictated by individual cases. Who knows, we may change it to RAA in the future if medicals become an issue. *I found out today that a converted automobile engine can fly in controlled airspace under the Experimental category. The restriction is that it must maintain a hight capable of gliding to a non built up area. Mark

OP here. It's all been relevant to getting an overview of real world costs of RA vs GA. Thanks everyone. I'm still not sure which way to go and to throw a spanner in the works I've just been offered an unfinished project which is tempting. Same French plane with diesel engine, trouble is I wouldn't have completed 51%.

I'm not sure what you mean by this. Are you saying they can't charge you because they don't have your details? Mark