Student Pilot

The lead aircraft have been working with all the LAT's since September, I think they would have an idea of the capabilities of all aircraft. As I said retardant mainly used on bush, most fires have been bush this season. I would say 75% of my drops (SEAT) would have been retardant this year

The LATs and VLAT in Australia do drop water/ foam depending on where the drop is. In sensitive areas just water is dropped, grass and scrub mostly foam and bush mostly retardant. SEATs do the same, choppers, medium and heavy mostly drop water/ foam very rarely retardant.

I had heard the tailplane was intact, no sign of anything of any size in that footage. Absolute destruction.

Crew fatigue is well looked after on fires. The bigger machines have multiple crew and change out regularly. I recon that front in NSW was the one that came though Vic on Wednesday. We went to a fire near Lake Bolac on Wednesday and conditions were very rough in the lee of the Gramps making flying hard work.

How's your back country flying goen Gazza?

I agree Red, my Malvern Star is a real thoroughbred and only those specially trained can handle it, not for your average Joe Blow.

Cirrus used to target wealthy individuals with no previous flying experience then release them into the world with what some considered to be inadequate training for what is a high performance and complex machine, the result is reflected in accident stats.

Cirrus seem to have a lot of landing accidents

It's not a control tower only traffic advisory. Things have been very busy in some area's with the fires. In the last few months I have been Operating out of ordinary CTAFs with over 10 aircraft just associated with the fires plus GA traffic. Corryong, Mansfield, Hamilton just a couple. As long as you keep calls to a minimum and use common sense everything Ok, the 10 calls from inbound to clear are not welcome when things are very busy.

Was the "tower" just an advisery or was it controlled airspace? If just an advisery seems all that would do would be to add more transmissions to an already busy airspace, just talk directly to any conflicting traffic. Broadcast your intensions and keep your calls to a minimum.

Most NDB's are being decommissioned now. Never found them to be reliable, mostly because of old rubbish radios. Did have a King KR87 (To get it NVFR) in a little machine, it was mainly good for listening to the radio. Pretty amazing CASA still has reliance on 1920's technology, indicates how progressive they are.

Normally laminar flow aerofoil sections are thicker further back, the thickest section of the aerofoil is a third or further back. The usual clark Y and a lot of NACA sections it's around a quarter chord.

Couple of things, firstly I have been using GPS (For work) since they came out commercially available, only once has it stopped working, just after they first started being used, that was for half an hour. That's since around 1991. Next VFR flying is just that, looking out the window. If you are worried about flying into rising ground then knowing LSA won't have any impact, you shouldn't be flying that low. Yes I know weather can throw curved balls, training should cover this.

Agreed, use maps as well. LSAT has no place in VFR really, if it's non VFR then no fly.

Boeing will get rewarded for it's bad behaviour just like banks did in the last world financial crisis. Trumpf will step in and bail them out, one hand on the bible will make it all OK

Never used 1 in 60, I look out the window and use maps before GPS. Now just use GPS.

Hunsta, like your Avatar

Prop feathered/prop windmilling can make a BIG difference. Plus it's a big difference sitting comfortably tapping on a putor to sitting in in the aircraft making actual real world decisions. What do those religous types say? (liberty taken) "Let who is without any expirence or idea cast the first aspersions". Here enduth the lesson.

Try OXY but use an oxidising flame.

The quote of pilot loss is 18%, I have seen 20% quoted before. The losses of Australians in 77 squadron in Korea were 25%, 1 in 4 were lost.

Gasless tig? Mebe gasless mig but fluxcore makes a mess and weld quaility is nowhere near gas sheilded.

Several things Yes aircraft are paid for standby, the alternative is not to have those aircraft available. Current situation an example, Victorian aircraft could be utilised in NSW which would make them unavailable for dispatch in Vic. Not sure where you got your figures from but SEATs are getting less now than they were 10 years ago and certainly less than you quote, would you recommend to cut costs and maintenance on aircraft that work so hard in hostile conditions? Obviously you don't fly on fires going by your conjecture. Just say your idea is valid that aircraft are useless in most fire situations. Leaving aside attacking the fire. From personal experience I have seen on many occasions where aircraft have been utilised on direct attack on vehicles and assets under a dire threat. Calls have been from people in vehicles for drops on vehicles, I have seen both foam and retardant used for this, depends whatever the aircraft has on board when the threat is called in. The events I've seen there was no other choices for ground crew intervention. How would you suggest to have aircraft ready for such situations without a standby? Again I don't know where you get your information from, aerial drops are authorised from the fire ground controller on the fire who is also controlling crew, or from an air attack supervisor flying over the fire who is in contact with fire crew and the fire ground controller. NOT from a command centre many kilometres away. If there are no ground crew the aircraft pilot has authority to drop after the usual checks and inspections are made. Aircraft DO NOT just go in willy nilly and drop without checking out the area.

In 5 years if Indonesians have bought 7 Canadairs for roughly 200 million, they (the aircraft) will be U/S and in need of rebuilds, that's if they crew them with expats. If they crew them with local pilots there will be no aircraft left in 5 years.

You really have to make your mind up S, either the water evaporates and is useless or it hits hard and does damage, which one is it? There are standard operating procedures for water bombing, drops are OK'd from the ground after ground crews cleared. Have you had any "Actual" experience with aerial ops? As far as Canadairs go, they carry 6000 litres for 24 million each!!!! 802's carry 3000 and usually work in Pairs dropping 6000 in one pass, these are privately owned at no expense to Governments except when used.

What a great idea, worked rooly well with the banking enquiry...............................what's happened since? SNAFU