BurnieM

Everybody feels like that. It took me 23 months (including cross country). Did the paperwork for RPL and now I have run out of money. Need to get job so I can finish it then ...

Yeah, nah. Its pretty typical for an LSA.

We flight plan at 16 litres/hour in a Evektor Harmony with a Rotax 912is but cruise is only 110kt.

Just looking at that story again - "English language proficiency" Wonder if this means CASA AELP. Cost me $150 six months ago for mine for RPL. 20 minute conversation to tell me I can speak my native language. No way around it in the CASA world. Wonder what this means for RAAus ?

I vaguely remember class 5 medical being required for RAAus Controlled Airspace endorsement. Not a big deal; 1 hour online course then self declaration with $10 fee. Yeah same as what we already do but with a $10 fee. And you will need to get an ARN first. Found it; https://www.australianflying.com.au/latest/casa-grants-class-c-and-d-access-to-sport-and-recreational-pilots

Being in IT I understand your confusion. IT contractors do what the contract says. Who wrote the contract ? I have been involved in a contract were the company hiring us told us to remove a core conponent of the application. Several team members advised them in writing that it would cause several modules to fail and all others to have limited functionality. 2 weeks before it was due to go live they realised it was a massive c/f. Lots of meetings, lots of loud blame on us. 2 years of legal fights. The contracting company won and the application still does not work several years later. We CAN grow your food but if the manager running the project says 'water is not required' you do not have to be a rocket scientist to realise the end result.

The GNX 375 looks like a good option but not cheap. What mapping does it come with ? I see the GNX 375 annual subscription bundle is US$599 per annum and comes with; Garmin Navdata, Obstacles, Safetaxi, Airport directory, Terrain, Basemap and Frequency databases Garmin GNX 375 GPS Navigator with ADS-B in and out Bluetooth with flight plan transfer to/from your EFB and traffic to your EFB.

Have you looked at a Garmin GTX45R with builtin Gps, I believe this is a little cheaper than a GTX345R. You can get both of these without a GPS if you already have a Garmin IFR navigator. If you do not have a Garmin ADAHRS you will also need an altitude encoder. Having an audio warning "Traffic 2 oclock high less than 1 mile" is worth its weight in gold but almost as expensive 😀

Yep, a 916 when I win the Lotto next week. Oh, not talking to me ?

Some background on The Oaks mid air; I believe both aircraft had radios capable of monitoring 2 frequencies. It is unknown whether either of them were doing so. One aircraft was departing Camden and the other was in the circuit at The Oaks. In this circumstance I would be monitoring only the tower/CTAF frequency. I do not know what either of these pilots were monitoring. As it neared The Oaks it appears that the Cessna did not transmit on The Oaks CTAF. The reason is unknown. I do not believe that also monitoring the area frequency would have changed the outcome of this incident, mainly because neither aircraft were transmitting on this frequency. The Jabiru had a Skyecho and an iPad EFB. This would have given visual alerts of other ADS-B/Skyecho equipped aircraft. It is unknown whether it could also give audio alerts. I believe the Cessna had a mode C transponder. While it seems likely that ATC could electronically see both aircraft, neither aircraft could 'see' the other. Video recovered from a Gopro in the Jabiru showed the Cessna was visible at a low angle for 8 seconds prior to the collision. The Jabiru pilot did not seem aware of the other aircraft. If one aircraft had ADS-B in/out with audio alerts and the other aircraft had at least ADS-B out I believe this collision could have been avoided. I do not believe ADS-B displayed on a screen would have been adequate when both pilots had a number of other things that required their attention. I believe an ADS-B transponder had already been purchased for the Cessna and was to be fitted in the weeks after this incident.

Transponder mode A - 4 digit octal id code Mode C - 4 digit octal id code plus pressure altitude Mode S - 24 bit hex code plus pressure altitude plus callsign Mode S extended squitter (ADS-B) - 24 bit hex code plus pressure altitude plus callsign plus GPS position including GPS altitude plus a range of other data

Yep VFR flight plan, known for over 12 months. More like an Air Services 'requirement'. Lots of talk for a while now about it being a sort of D+ whatever that means. I believe you will need a mode C transponder or higher (Skyecho will not cover it) and a VHF radio (but not a second radio). It is actually worse than that. Talk of a 1500 AMSL max height for this lane.

The flight plan and controlled airspace endorsement have been a requirement with all of the different airspace plans and known for over 12 months. Having to overfly Bankstown going north and south has also been known for a while. RAAus getting the CA endorsement running before Christmas is good but very much in the realm of about f*king time.

Avdata already have a big database. They already have your rego, name and billing address. I do not remember a public enquiry before CASA just handed this information over to a commercial organisation. They do not appear to be interested in anything except our money. Councils will take the path of least resistance. Sometimes this is good and sometimes not. Most councils have very limited funds and do not really want to perform tasks they do not have to. In 18 months doing my RPC at Shellharbour (a council owned security controlled airport) I was only asked for it once. This was about 4 months before I actually got one. Pretty hard to stop anybody from landing anywhere even YSSY. Yes they can arrest you afterwards but a serious terrorist would have already done the dirty by then.

Somebody at a senior level in CASA is supporting the ASIC otherwise why would it be a requirement before you can be issued with a RPL or PPL ?

Translation; We will continue to be ripped off by an inefficient and meaningless process.

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/562009

For measuring using any scale you really want to use a scale where your expected weight falls in the mid range of the scales capability for reasonable accuracy. You should also use a check weight in the middle of the range. If we have a bathroom scale with a stated range of 20 - 150 kg then this would not be suitable for LSA measuring if we are expecting a weight between 150 and 250 on each wheel. Even if each wheel had only 150 kg weight then this would be at the scales extreme with a high error. Using a 20 kg check weight would not give a meaningful check for the same reason. And we have not even got into calibration issues 😀

Good Garmin autopilot overview video; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQMWC5Aq1JM This is an early video. References to the G5 equally apply to G5, GI275, G3X Touch or G500 TXi. There are a lot of confusing videos on the Garmin autopilot. The GMC507 is the autopilot mode controller. The autopilot and flight director software runs on the G5, GI275, G3X Touch or G500 TXi. If you have a G3X Touch you can run the autopilot without the GMC507 mode controller.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotax_914 Wiki says it was introduced in 1996. A little perplexed why they kept the carbs as I would have thought at throttle body with a multi-function ECU would have been the way to go. This would probably have required a lot more sensors but ECU based systems were not unknown in 1996.

https://www.flyrotax.com/products/914-ul-f I am confused, Rotax says that the 914 has an automatic wastegate and electronic ignition, so no ECU.

A lot of people only have manual trim. Not sure of the reasoning as I have never installed a GSA28 servo. Interesting you went with a Yaw servo as this is often left out (cost?) There is a FaceBook page for GFC500 (https://www.facebook.com/groups/833963897818892) that can probably answer your questions. A power switch to quickly cut power to all servos and the GMC507 is a good idea.

CASA are slow. Maintenance Course sounds good but the voices I am hearing say 2028. Thought you would already be an RPL ? Get an ARN (the only thing free). Submit a passport sized photo $10 and declaration for your ARN record. Pay $330 for ASIC (and wait 8 weeks). Pay $150 for English Language assessment. Do a class 5 medical online $10. Do extra 3 hours solo (at RAAus rates) if you want the Navigation endorsement (including one trip of 100 NM with 2 away full stop landings). Pay $50 for CASA to process form. Do a flight review, say 2 hours at GA rates. Will probably require 5-ish hours to 'convert' you as most GA schools do not seem to want to just do a FR. Do a CASA flight review every 2 years then advise RAAus and they will update your RAAus records (no RAAus FR required).

Re-opening of Tumut delayed till 22 December

Isn't clothing a simplier option ? Maybe a pair of sale ski pants and jacket.