Bridgy89

Went on my first trip away with my better half Anna. We shot up to Agnes Waters for a short 2 night stay. Agnes was a tricky strip to get into and really had to work, was a great challenge. On the day we planned to come home the weather was very marginal all day so opted for another night in Agnes Waters with the weather looking better for us the next day. We got down to the airport early (0530), so early the strip was full of Kangaroo's. My first trip away without another pilot (safety pilot) was a success! Can't wait for my next big one away with a mate who is also hour building, we are planning on heading up to Darwin way and then round to Cairns and back through every CTA down the coast, and hopeful to come back with some extra experience which will help us with our CPL. Cheers, Kyle.

Hi, I'm after some advice for a flight from Caloundra to Bankstown return. I have recently got my CTA endorsement and want to use it and also don't want to fly the whole way down over all the range. I think I will try and get a transit coastal through Gold Coast and Coffs then do the coastal transit through Williamstown as well before joining the Northern inbound route for Bankstown. Does this sound ok, and any advice would be awesome. For Coffs, if I was at say A075, would I just be getting my clearance from BN CEN, as I would be going into Class C to transit? Something that absolutely trips me up, is how different all the Class D's are? Cheers, Kyle.

Trip went well thanks guys!! I landed no problems... just really turbulent!! Had to get the roo's off in the morning at BOD and took off 14 which was fine, I think in a under powered airplane like a skipper you would really have to think about the high ground if taking off 14

Hi everyone, Just looking for some advice on some radio procedures for CTA. If I needed to transit Oakey airspace (RA2) from Nanango to Toowoomba would the call be something like this, 'Oakey Delivery, Cessna 172 CFG, overhead Nanango 3800 climbing 4500, for Toowoomba, request clearance?' Or is there a better way to say it because of the "for" in there after giving my height? Also for Class C airspace, is it pretty straight forward in the sense I just get onto BN Cen, get a code and tell them where I am going and they will either pass me onto approach or TWR? Im under the impression that if i am going in under the steps I'll be talking to TWR and if through the steps it will be APP? Cheers, Kyle.

Hi guys, I am taking my GF on a bit of a surprise getaway in January up to 1770 for a couple of days and was wondering if there is anyone on here that does some flying in and out of Agnes Waters strip or in that general area... I want to do a flight while i'm up there out to Lady Musgrave Island and around some of the others out there... Just wondering if anyones know some of the local procedures or any advice? Cheers, Kyle.

I ended up stopping in Surat, was well worth it with an interesting runway and excellent coffee only 15 mins walk to the other side of the town!

Hi guys, I am flying to Roma on Saturday and was planning to stop at Begonia Station on our way through but apparently the owners aren't going to be there so looking for somewhere else that is cool we could stop at. We are flying from Caloundra YCDR. So was looking to find out if anyone has any suggestions on somewhere good to stop? Maybe like other stations? Cheers, Kyle.

So good!! @Astroguy I am currently in Baie-Comeau, Canada. Cross Country flying is so satisfying, flying yourself somewhere! I find it most satisfying when you do your planning and you absolutely nail it and the times just come together

Thanks for the tips! I feel like I will make good decisions based on the weather, like cloud and storms. I am just worried that the turbulence could get so severe that it will be dangerous?... I have never really encountered turbulence that is like full hectic. So basically because it gets so hot out there in summer it can be rather bumpy right, so my plan was to leave Caloundra at BOD (in summer that is probably like 4:45am I am guessing). It's about a 5.5-6hr flight, but you never know until the day with winds ect... so depending on where I make it by 11am... stop then for lunch and wait till the arvo to do the last hop, which should only be maybe 1.5hr max. Does that sound good?

Hi, I am wanting to do a flight for some hour building in January in a Cherokee 6 300. The plan is to fly from Sunshine Coast to Ballarat and back again about 5 days later. The flight will be in the first week of January 2019. I just want to get some thoughts about whether it is a stupid idea as it can be crazy hot during that time, and I am just concerned about the turbulence. Has anyone done flying in summer out that way and what their experiences have been? Cheers, Kyle.

Thanks everyone! I am actually keen to get back up there... I think though even when I get my Nav done, it might be awhile till I feel comfortable taking passengers up with me until I know I am all good. As you said 1@cscotthendry[/uSER] it might be worth me going with a group of a adventure west and get confidence up. I really want to be able to fly myself and my Girlfriend up to Hamilton Island or a trip like that one day!! Would be insane :) 1@BirdDog[/uSER] When I got to Kingaroy the other day I couldn't do the fly over procedure though, there were gliders around and getting towed up, so I listened to the AWIS and then fly over only the active circuit to get a bit of an idea of the wind direction and then joined mid downwind. It wasn't as scary a procedure as I thought haha (I have only been use to flying over, getting the wind sock direction and descending on the dead side).

Hi guys, I went on my 2nd Solo Nav Ex yesterday... I learnt lots from my mistakes and have loads of questions. I am a low time pilot with only around 70hrs and still a student going through my X-Country endorsement. Yesterday I went on my 2nd solo Nav Ex, I found myself getting so worked up with nerves that I am going to do the wrong procedures getting into the aerodromes, and having my head down in the maps trying to make sure I know exactly where I am at all times and not keeping a good look out. Do most students and low time pilots feel this way? Does one get more relaxed about everything, but not to relaxed that you get complacent? Like driving a car, that it becomes almost second nature? What I learnt...yesterday there were fairly strong winds and i had just read in the text book a few days early about 'rotor' turbulence on the lee side of mountains. I did have a tailwind going into these mountains so experience massive updraft, and being nervous about what was awaiting me on the lee side I decided to instead descend and go around the range to the aerodrome on the other side (Watts Bridge). Talking to my instructor and a few pilots after I probably over panicked and made a bad decision giving up altitude. So I learnt you shouldn't give up height and should have used that updraft to get even more height going over the range. I was also experiencing a lot of turbulence which had me on edge the whole flight. Cheers, Kyle.

Seems to be a lot more information out there on the Brumby's. Still very unsure about the ALW SP2000. I think it is also I am very new to aviation and very weary about an aircraft which there aren't many of.

Hi guys, I just wanted to get your opinions about the LightWing Aeroplanes, specifically the SP2000? I am looking at a few aeroplanes and this one caught my eye because of the luggage area behind the seats and the layout of the cockpit seems good. I have also looked into the Brumby 600, although seems a bit more expensive. The mission I want to accomplish, is to be able to fly somewhere with the GF and mates for weekends away... or to things like the Birdsville races. So some touring and little get aways here and there. I am also going to be a school teacher, and a plane will be handy when I have to move out to the country for my country service. Has anyone had any experience with these or heard about them at all? There doesn't seem to be many of them around in Australia for a Australian Designed Aeroplane. Cheers, Kyle.