poteroo

Va is intended to provide some margin between normal flight control operation and that which might place the airframe into a higher risk zone. Va is calculated as: sq.rt of positive load factor x Vs Vs is of course clean stall speed. Vs depends on MTOW - lower MTOW = lower Vs Va will often be given as a range in a POH. My Brumby R610 is neither a speed machine nor a STOL. Its aluminium, not glass/composite, and so isn't the same strength. It is a utility aircraft with +3.8 and -1.9 load factors as given by factory SqRt of 3.8 is approx. 2.0 Vs at MTOW is 44 Va is therefore approx. 88KIAS @ MTOW - but very much lower if flown solo with 2 hrs fuel. In practice, you can work it out by taking an aircraft out, with your intended load of passengers, fuel and freight - then conduct a vigorous stall program to establish Vs - then do the numbers. What's that? the pax want to get off! And it was just being done for their safety. Based on that info, my students are strongly advised to back off power and IAS anywhere near where turbulence is likely, eg Cb vicinity, mountain shear zones, at lower level if winds >25 kts etc. Where pilots begin to debate the ins/outs of ASI green arc / yellow arc is one of my peeves. Yellow arc cruise is strictly smooth air, and it certainly isn't likely over many months in Australia where we suffer average ambient temperatures of +20c over standard. Vno is not Va. It can be rough as all the way up to 10k some days. Continuous flogging of aircraft through low level thermal turbulence will eventually create fatigue in the airframe - just look at the number of C210s that have broken up in flight in recent years. When you have a Va around 120-125KIAS, it's risky to be pushing your luck in rough air at 140-150KIAS. If you have a more strongly constructed aircraft with a manufacturers LF of say 5.0 - 6.0, then you'll have a higher Va. A PC9 or PC21 sounds good. happy days,

Common response, but short-sighted. We had the same issue about 10 years back where landing charges were applied to our RPT airport. We negotiated a 'no fee' option for aircraft visiting for specific events, eg, the Aero Clubs Sunday breakfast, SAAA Chapter meetings, CASA meetings, other aviation related events, meetings etc. All that;s required is that the airport manager receives a list of the visiting regos from the event organiser, and the regos are wiped from the listing sent to the accounts section of the City Council. It's far from perfect, but it does leave us some wriggle room. At least 2 other airports in WA have eventually agreed to lift all fees for <1500 kg MTOW, but it takes time, and some goodwill to achieve it. happy days,

At the risk of being a boring old fart, I think that the major reason that costs have escalated is because we have so much more to teach students today: particularly more emphasis on procedures, ie radio use, sealed runway ops, traffic mix, lengthy checklists, and more rules & regs. All of which leaves less time for real skills development. When a student pilot had no radio, a huge green 'allover' paddock, a windsock, nobody else within 50 miles, a 4 item checklist, and the rule book in the office: the focus was just on skills. Less than 10 hrs to solo was common. The procedures were taught later: as required by the pilots future plans. happy days,

When calibrating an EFIS for magnetic readouts, you need to establish 'dip' for your location and it is done via some website or other, (can't remember exactly). Only after inserting that can you begin the actual swing - which I used to do over a painted compass 'rose' at our airport. (pic). Management have since managed to overspray it with hot bitumen, and cannot be cajoled into providing us with a site on which to paint another. I used a LAMEs prismatic compass to instal the original about 15 years ago. LAMEs usually use a calibrated prismatic compass and follow the aircraft around over each of the cardinal points, then the in betweens = deviation card for standard compass. An EFIS is calibrated directly into degrees M. The best compass I've ever used is the 'vertical card' type, (pic), which is intuitive, steady, and large enough to read without too much error. Better than a DI because you don't suffer from precession error.

Flying in PNG back in the 60's posed many problems with loadings, maintenance but also with altitudes and pilot awareness. We often needed 14,000 to get back over many of the ranges, and this by midday. I thought I was going to lose a passenger one day in 1969, when directed to pickup 4 VIPs off a jet at Jacksons Airport, (the main Port Moresby airport). One of them was indeed a VIP, and he also owned the airline. His name was Bert Kienzle, and he was the plantation owner from near Kokoda who planned and organised the entire carrier lines in support of the Aussies Kokoda Track operation - some 15,000 of them. His life story is contained in The Architect of Kokoda by Robyn Kienzle 2011. It was already 1400 local time, and Flight Service were saying that the Kokoda Gap was closed below 11,000. Great, this means a significant diversion to the SE via the E of Mt Obree. Another 2 hrs fuel into the PA-23-250C that I was given. Bert was quite chatty, and asked about the Gap weather as we departed. 'Going via the SE' said I. "A good idea' says Bert, 'we usually get in that way even if it takes a bit longer'. It did indeed take both a bit longer and a lot higher, (14,000 in fact, without oxygen, but thankfully only for 10 mins or so. Bert looked a bit sleepy, but I put it down to a long flight up from Australia, plus his being 65 at that time. Once we hit the warm, humid air east of Kokoda, Bert perked up and very accurately directed me to the Kokoda strip. Had we been forced to stay up longer, and fly out to the north coast before descent, I'm not sure he would have been so good. Other pilots later told me that Bert could point out every rock and creek along the Kokoda Track in good weather - as you expect from his history of marking it out, to running the entire Army supply chain in 42/43. As an non-smoker, and being 28yo, I rarely felt any hypoxia below 14,000, but today, (50 years later), I really do notice being at 10,000. There were many stories about aircraft flown to 18,000 to clear wx in those days. Usually, it proved smarter to divert around the wx, and keep the back door open, and the brain well supplied with o2. happy days,

As you'll hear/see on tonights' news, CP never submitted an application to enter WA. His pilot did, nominating CP as his wife!, but he too stuffed up a simple form. Had he just behaved like the great unwashed, (us), he'd have almost certainly been allowed in - subject to 14 days in house quarantine, which is what he is bucking about. Good enough for Twiggy Forrest and Kerry Stokes to do the paperwork and be allowed in/out, albeit with a bit of government brown-nosing by allowing them to 'self-isolate' at home. In any case, if CP decided to push his way into WA, who's to know whether he'll be able to buy fuel, much less have it delivered into jet ? happy days,

Whatever you do, when approaching any location where terrain is rising, and weather can be marginal - stay in VMC, and 'keep the back door open'. ie, constantly look behind you to ensure that cloud isn't forming below your level, and that heavy rain isn't closing in your possible track reversal. Decide which way you will turn - but downslope is smartest as clearance AGL increases. If using a GPS, set it so that your 'terrain' warnings begin at 1000AGL and not 500' AGL - a decent margin in that. Local knowledge is important for 'gap' locations. happy days,

I understand that HF is now included in BAK, just as it is in the GA BAK and PPL final theory exams. Provided that your BAK pass is 'recent' ie last 2-3 year perhaps, you have already met requirements. Your student records will inform your current CFI and they should advise you. happy days,

Because of the lack of records from many countries, numbers have been estimates at best. 20-30million is quite substantiable, but more recent estimates are from 50-75million. Comparing the Spanish flu to our CV-19 isn't too accurate for many reasons.

AFAIK, the reaction time to loss-of-noise is very dependant on how much 'in practice' the pilot is. A student pilot expects to have the engine power reduced when they are doing 'circuits', just as a BFR candidate expects to have a 'loss-of-power' event on one of their circuits. So, as an instructor, I feel that these tests are not a valid indication of the pilots' response when they are flying solo, or with a passenger where they are likely to be far more relaxed. Being 'relaxed' is likely to result in a slower reaction to an emergency event. I have read, ( I think it may have been in Barry Schiffs book #3), that EFATO reaction time might be as much as 5 secs. Doesn't leave much time, or altitude, or airspeed, to work with if you fall into the 4-5 secs group! Pilots react with a range of responses, with many suffering a sense of shock, disbelief, confusion too - before reacting. This is shortened by recurrent training, and by an honest immediate pre-takeoff safety 'brief' to ones' self, thus getting some 'adrenaline pumping'. The faster that a pilot recognises an emergency happening, the more smoothly and capably they can react. An instructor can introduce say, a 2 second pause in allowing the pilot to begin with either adopting a glide or any 'vital' action : which then demonstrates just how much the situation will deteriorate in the space of 2 seconds. Has to be done safely and sensibly of course. From the EFATO, an instructor can introduce a 'pause' into other emergency events such as a go-round. Again, a situation which can be frighteningly sudden, and is particularly dangerous if you are at the end of a long, (3-4 hrs), flight, where your reaction times have been scientifically measured as slower. happy days, If we continue to train pilots by pre-empting an 'emergency', then pilots are not learning just how greatly their reaction time is affected by shock.

Discussion about 'Mexicans' from 'down south' (specifically - Victoria), always brings me to a smile about how Queenslanders have a long held dislike of anyone S of the border. My long departed Dad blamed them for near everything that went wrong in SEQ - floods, landslides, traffic, prices, hospital overcrowding, too many visitors at his bowling club, (on the Sunshine Coast).......... and on it went! My generation, (war babies), grew up with a fear of 'Mexicans' only 2nd to the evil Japanese faces on the WW2 posters. But I've lived in WA now for 50 years, so no longer live in terror! btw, as a former plant pathologist with some epidemiological experience, I believe the greater threat for CV-19 is the fact of its' spread via 'aerosol' sized droplets, (very small). Its' been several decades since scientists identified virus particles on dust, pesticide particles, chemical pollutants, and disease spores being carried W - E around the earth in the upper atmosphere. DNA studies have demonstrated that plant diseases have only taken days/weeks to move from continent to continent. These particles may sediment out of the atmosphere, onto the earths surface, but usually in areas where there are no host plants or animals. But, the possibility of them landing on a likely host is always there. This is only now being investigated in relation to CV19. If you think that CV-19 spread is only via larger 'wet' droplets, and that your social distancing will protect you.... think again. Masks will help, but these aerosols are likely responsible for many of the widely separated, inexplicable clusters which are being found. I rests me case here - before I begin to frighten the horses!

Not so much these days, but it was really strong in the 60's & 70s. I can remember going to a BBQ (somewhere in WQ), and everyone flew back to their own stations around midnight. They would have blown waaaaay over! As a new PPL, I was stunned. On one of my 1st jobs in 1967, the Senior pilot was too drunk to be roused at 0500, so, despite not having completed my last 'route check', I was sent packing on a 3 hrs x 10 stop flight in a C185. I survived, but had I been ramp checked it could have been difficult to explain. This wasn't the only time I'd heard of this sort of event either. Thank goodness that as a society, we've become more responsible with alcohol. However, it requires self-discipline if you are working away from the normal restraints of police, CASA, chief pilots, or chief flying instructors.

Correct. In the event that their GA BFR is 'current', they still need to meet 90 day currency requirements on the different type. An RAAus owner would be very brave to just hand a GA pilot the keys and let them regain their currency. I'd require a check flight with them to assess their real life competency. happy days,

Aviation never has been well paid once you get away from the RPT stuff. When I started out, (1965), I received the princely stipend of A$5/hr, and for that I supervised refuelling, loading/unloading and kept the cargo & pax manifests updated, did a load sheet at each location, flight planned, and flew the clapped out aircraft over tiger country in lousy conditions. I really did feel priveliged because there were 500 odd CPLs without a career job in Australia. In 2012, I contracted for a low level survey job at $80/ flight hr, and did all of the above at 150ft. Didn't feel as though things had changed much in 35 years, given inflation over that time! Again, CPLs hanging out of trees looking for a 1st job. Today, I still charge $88/hr for GA instructing, because the market simply can't support rates of $150+/hr. Well, I may be a bit old fashioned here, but when the pilot costs more than the aircraft - there's something awry. With RAAus, I generally keep my charge out to between $66/hr and $88/hr, depending on the complexity of the flight: BFRs at the higher end. For this, the student receives an hour of brief/debrief with their 1 hr of dual. And, it's not as thought I'm a junior instructor with little real life flying experience. My rationalisation is simply that, to keep our industry afloat, we have to keep our charges within bounds. I think that $200-240/hr for dual RAAus training is a reasonable thing for many schools: given that the aircraft is probably worth north of $100k, and overheads are rising every year on most airports. Unfortunately, the industry isn't going to change much because of a contraction in discretionary spending: which maintains the pressure to hold charges down. As far as I can see, this isn't going to change, and it means there is no way anyone can make a living from instructing alone: it will always be a part-time/hobby/love job! I'm retired, and can afford to operate, but I feel for the many schools who are really struggling.

NO. Lots of problems fitting them as, amongst other mods, new exhausts needed. Also, the 0-233 version had a problem ignition system which resulted in a lot of grief. Brumby have settled on the 912ULS for the time being. You can get the 912iS version with better fuel economy, but with PULP falling back towards $1.00-1.20/L, paying another $8k isn't sensible. I flew both versions back in 2013/14 and although the Lycoming was a bit faster, it ran 'rougher' than the Rotax, and was noisier inside. Care to share? Apart from the early enthusiasm for promoting the Brumby as a 110KTAS touring aircraft, it fits into the training market very well. 110 is super optimistic btw - 100KTAS at 75% and 5000ft is closer, but we flight plan students at 90KTAS so they can easily do the maths mentally. I've flown mine 900TT without problems - and that's in a flying school. The R610 high wing model isn't a speedy tourer - it really fits into the market as a very quiet, no vices, spacious/comfortable pilot trainer. happy days,

I did some of the early CRA charters over there in 1969 using either a turbo Aztec C or a new twin Comanche C out of Port Moresby. WE were not permitted to go direct but via 90DME Finchafen to 90DME Rabaul thence Buka for fuel. We unloaded at Kieta down the East Coast. If wx was particularly putrid, we'd deviate to Rabaul and overnight there rather than try to bash back thru the Owen Stanleys when we were tired. Never really saw much of Bougainville but Rabaul was a fabulous location, (pre the eruption), as was Kavieng. happy days,

Familiar territory. Would have loved a Kodiak in the 60s but the C185s got us there..... most times. Very professional guys = stay careful, the wx hasn't changed, and the valleys no wider. happy dyas,

I saw the very 1st commercial charter flight of a Bristol in TAA livery, which flew 2 LandRovers into the old Mt Hagen strip in the PNG Highlands, (5800amsl) in about 1962. The front doors opened with great drama, and out rolled the LRs. Absolute mayhem in the watching crowd of about 3000 'Hagens' dressed up in sing sing gear! Bristols were henceforth known as 'moma bilong truk'. From memory, engine maintenance was an issue and also there wasn't any great rush to crew them. happy days,

Agree. Doesn't matter if you are both high hrs ATPLs, or both low time PPLs, or RPCs : the unwritten rule was to both agree on who was PIC/PF, and who was effectively the observant 2nd pilot. Many, many accidents in sophisticated twins flown by professional crew have been due to a 'too casual' approach to who was doing the actual flying. And, what was intended to be flown. No excuses however for an instructor flying RHS who fails to raise the command issue with an already qualified pilot. It should usually devolve to who has the most recency on that aircraft or that type.

Gday, You'll possibly have seen this C33, which I was lucky enough to have been able to fly around in 1971-72. It was good for 145 @ 65% as you say, and avgas was really cheap back then so 48LPH didn't bring tears to ones wallet! It started life in Derby, (WA), in the 60's, and was owned by a business in Perth 1970-72. It turned up in Cowra NSW at the Brumby factory when I was purchasing my high wing in 2015. Believe it's in Canberra or thereabouts now. Happy days,

In Anzac Days past................................

It was a very much muted AD here in Albany. The state has been divided into regions and travel between is only permitted by permit. The Great Southern is 2 away from Perth, and so several of our usual formation members were grounded in Jandakot. Several of our own members had aircraft in maintenance, (in expectation of a complete grounding of all GA), and a couple had escaped out to their farms. So, we ran a mixed type formation, which required some real effort on the part of our faster members: as it did for the tail-ender with only 160HP because we were at 140KIAS. There was no RAAF formation, so we were tasked with the 1100 flypast of the Memorial, (to break the 1 minute silence). There was no marchpast. However the main drag was filled with cars, and a lot of pedestrians who had fore-knowledge of the small RSL event. We made it over the 'top' with 20secs to go, not too bad, considering the many showers and the wind at the time. #1 (leader) RV9A VH-VFE 180HP/FP #2 Falco VH-YBN 180HP/CS #3 Glasair III VH-DNJ 300HP/CS #4 RV6 VH-VNE 180HP/CS #5 RV9A VH-LPL 160HP/FP (Albany Aero Club)

Steady on there! The most dangerous part of my flying day is from the idiots on the road, who are usually much younger than me. FWIW, I believe I'm a better pilot, skills and procedure wise, than I was 50 years ago. Maybe I'm suffering cognitive disorder? happy days,

Aviation isn't alone in having a bleak future for all levels of qualified people. Think: the massive numbers of tertiary qualified people contesting a shrinking market for many professions, not limited to law, economics, commerce, arts, and teaching. Of course, if you are in medical science, or pharmacy, things are looking reasonable. Notwithstanding this, there are likely to be thousands of essentially overqualified people on the CenterLink queue. Yet the universities are crying poor because they have lost most of their Chinese students, who pay higher fees than do Aussie citizens. Talk about supply & demand.

There won't be any rush by CPL students to go RAAus because in many instances, future employers look askance at RAAus hours used to build a 200hr CPL. Likely that there will be a further slowing in 'demand' for RAAus flying, (and GA for that matter), meaning less instruction needed. As most RAAus schools are 1 or 2 part-time instructor employers, all I see is that these owner/operator schools will batten down, reduce costs, and slowly, slowly return to some flying. Instructors who are dual rated will find more work than those in either GA or RAAus. happy days?