RossK

The above has been good discussion.

The circuit or within 5 miles of the field have been where I've had all my close encounters.

I'm certain the Skyecho has saved us once.

Anywhooo, my last flight was a good one - first solo in the Archer this morning 😎 .

Currently doing the RPC to RPL conversion.

42 minutes ago, kgwilson said:

 

 

Photos are uploaded every 6 minutes and are live on Ozrunways, Auswebcams website and Windy.

Also through Avplan (no affiliation...😄)

The Android version of Avplan works well and so far I haven't come across any bugs.

My only gripe is that it is also written for IOS, so the Android version misses out on features.

I get an email every wednesday informing me of all the great features of Avplan and how to use them, most of which are only available on the IOS package 😒

But for a VFR pilot, the Android version works fine, and my Samsung A7 lite is yet to overheat.

Just because it's a Cirrus, doesn't mean you have to pull the chute.

Cirrus forced landing

Here's an example of a Cirrus pilot executing a successful forced landing.

Result - new engine and plane files again.

Yesterday was one of those flights that will be forever etched in my memory.

I got to take two kids for their first ever flights in any sort of aircraft

The girl, is my 4yo  Grandaughter 😁.

7 hours ago, BrendAn said:

I am going to sell it. I can give 1st refusal if you want😃

I haven't agreed to sell it to you yet 😆

Back to the topic.

If you're flying your own aircraft regularly, I doubt most pilots are doing the calcs or plotting the graph every flight.

I've done the calcs and plots for my aircraft and know that my wife and I, 25kg in the baggage area and 95L of fuel are under MTOW and within the envelope at all stages of flight.

So the 3 things I do are confirm fuel qty, actually weigh the stuff going in the baggage area, and then politley ask my gorgeous, stunning, love of my life what she weighed that morning 😱 😲 😬, If the numbers are within my limits, were good to go.

I know that 95L is going to keep the Rotax spinning for 5.2 hours, which is far longer than I can cope. We are typically on the ground again in less than 3 hours (longest to date is 3.5hrs).

11 hours ago, aro said:

ATEC list 110 km/h i.e 60 knots as "optimum" speed which I assume is Vy. About what I would expect.

 

A quick google finds the Atec Zephyr 122 Flight manual.

Section 5 lists the Best rate of Climb as 1180ft/min at 54knots, MTOW of 472.5kg.

I have no doubt the Atec are great aircraft and the book performance numbers are better than most, but Skip does seem to flavour the numbers with a bit of bias.

On 19/05/2023 at 6:16 PM, facthunter said:

  I think Dick Smith used to fly out of a place near there.  Nev

That would be Gundaroo

Gundaroo Airstrip

My experience is similar to Neil_S

Got my RPC in a Jab160, right Stick, left throttle and bought a low wing plane with centre throttle and dual sticks. So sitting in the left seat, everything is opposite to what I learnt in.

I was concerned that it might take some time to transition, but was surprised at how natural it came.

The hardest thing was the vernier throttle, and remembering to push the button.

Dan Gryder asked the pertinent question of GA and airline pilots;

"Manoeuvering Speed, is it a minimum or a maximum??"

The resulting answers are eye opening.

17 hours ago, facthunter said:

The issues with grass strips can't be wished away like you have to watch soft edges with a truck or even doing a U turn where you run a bit wide with the car. People who run off the taxiway edges with a plane usually end up in strife by going through the surface where it's not compacted. It's hard enough out landing in small planes. You'd want very detailed information of it's ability to carry the weight and soft surfaces create a lot of drag when taking off .Nev

And you think Pilatus haven't thought of this before marketing as suitable for unimproved strips??

Yes, going there was good markerting for Pilatus, but the PC-24 is designed to operate from grass & unimproved strips.

So not really a stunt, just a demonstration of it's capability. Landing on 2km of the Sturt Hwy would have been a doddle for the crew.

Most "with it" purcahsers looking for an off airport transporter are going to have Pilatus on their list. Pilatus just want to upsell them from the PC-12 to the PC-24 😁

On 29/04/2023 at 11:28 AM, facthunter said:

It's not a Qantas plane. Anyhow jets take longer than a turbo prop to get airborne at a higher speed and Foreign object damage would be more likely.  Nev

Pilatus don't seem to be too concerned with FOD in this you tube clip.

PC-24 at The Vale, Tasmania.

The friendly people at Rawnsley sent me these 😁 

45 minutes ago, Garfly said:

Yeah, that was what the wink was about.  All that hard yakka climbing to 2000' .    ;- )

Yep, 3hrs by foot 🤔

or 3 mins by plane 

But the view is spectacular, glad we did it 😉

Flew out to Rawnsley Park Station at Wilpena Pound for the weekend.

Refueled at Renmark on the way there and back.

Short final for 07 at Renmark

Then on to the Flinders Ranges

Had to do the obligatory climb of Rawnsley Bluff, 2000ft up this track!

Left Monday morning with a lap around Wilpena Pound for some nice photos

6hrs each way roughly.

Rawnsley Park Station was great. The accomodation is very good.

They picked us up from the aerodrome, took me to the general store to fill up my fuel bags (98 Premium), then back to the airport to refuel, and then back to the room.

Picked us up Monday morning and dropped us off and waved goodbye. Very welcoming to visiting pilots. I can highly recommend them, a great place to stop for a few days.

From the reports, he wasn't trying to land, he was departing.

"He was just about to fly home Saturday afternoon and he flew over the house just to say a final goodbye."

There doesn't seem to be a strip nearby that I could land our Sportstar on. Nearest aerodrome is 9km away.

But, he did take 2nd place (in the same AC) in the Light Sport Category at Aus STOL 2019, so who knows where he departed from.

16 hours ago, old man emu said:

2. Engine time:

Engine time meters (Hobbs meter) are not clocks. They are geared so that R revolutions of the crankshaft = 1 hour. So, it you push the throttle through the firewall, the hour meter will overread compared to clock time. If you use normal cruise power (about 75%) the meter and the clock should show the same.

A Hobbs meter is a clock, it does measure time.

What you are talking about is a Tach Time meter

15 minutes ago, Arron25 said:

But Boat ramps are free...

Funded by boat licences and boat registration fees.

How much do CASA charge for licences and VH rego ? 

1 hour ago, SGM said:

I am reliably informed the cause was fuel selector valve human error - there are four tanks on this one.

The question everyone wants an answer to is;

How did they get it out? Fly or Truck?

14 hours ago, danny_galaga said:

Are you replacing your gearbox every five years 😄

Its a Toyota, not a Landrover 

2 hours ago, danny_galaga said:

Thanks. I felt I should be able, but thought I'd better ask. My local bolt place will have them. I just don't tell them it's for an ultralight anymore. One of the staff gets funny about it. I just say it's for a boat 😃

Tell them it's for a snowmobile engine 😁