BurnieM

Sorry I went off at a tangent. The point was that complying with everything an aviation manufacturer says 100% may in some cirumstances be required but to do it blindly can also get you killed.

In every other area (cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats, watercraft etc) people challenge statements from engine (and other) manufacturers. Some of these challenges are mis-informed but some are not. Yet in aviation we should follow the manufacturers advise 100% ? Is this wise or even safe ? Personal experience; I have replaced 40-50 sets of sparkplugs on motorcycles and cars. I have had only two sparkplugs fail completely. One was a Bosch sparkplug 20 years ago and the other was a Bosch sparkplug 3 years ago. This does not prove that the current Bosch manufacturered Rotax sparkplugs are low quality but are you prepared to bet your life on it because Rotax says you must use them ?

ATSB final report

I am reluctant to be seen to be supporting Skip but he has a point. The reason no oil company "states their oil Meets and/Or exceeds Rotax's specifications" is because Rotax will not publish their XPS oil specs and has not provided it when requested. When Rotax asked an oil company (believed to be Castrol US but not confirmed) to develop a full synthetic oil to handle the unplanned heat generated by the 916 they knew they would have problems suspending the lead (from 100LL). A number of additive packages were developed and tested and took a while to be finalised. This full synthetic oil with custom additive package was then tested across the range of Rotax Aviation engines. It is believed one of the reasons the specs have not been released is because this XPS oil does not comply with any of the current oil standards and Rotax are doing a 'commercial in confidence' push. All Rotax aviation engines (except the 916) already had a recommended and technically capable oil available prior to XPS. Note that Rotax was previously recommending AeroShell for the 916 even tho it had technical shortcomings.

I prefer to listen to (mainly US based) engineers who work on these engines. I look at the background of the person offering advise and file that advise accordingly. So no I am not really concerned what an RAAus officer says (unless he/she has the aforementioned background). I do not see dropping Aeroshell as a Rotax recommend oil will effect much. People are still using NGK sparkplugs on all engines that previously came with them (all except the 916) without any maintenance or regulatory problems.

I could dig up some KTM statements quoting Rotax (who made some of their mc engines) about problems and remedies. A few of those were also essential but not covered by warranty. To think Rotax are only concerned about the customer to the exclusion of their profit is unwise.

It is widely acknowledged that the 916 benefits from a full synthetic oil due to higher than expected temperatures. The other engines including the 915 not so much. A lot of people are still using Aeroshell. Why not say this ? They would of course have to acknowledge that in spite of adding half a litre of oil to the larger 916 sump they appear to have miscalculated the heat generation requirements. Also Rotax do not make any profit on Aeroshell oil but do on XPS. I am sure this is not a consideration in their service statements.

Will be interesting to see what the actual STOL performance versus the higher than expected cruise speed actually turn out to be.

A lot of times you do not know what you do not know. You probably need to get 10-15 hours into it before you have a general idea if a school is good for your learning style. If it is not and you decide to change schools then you probably need another 10 hours to judge that school. A school can be ok but not perfect and sometimes you decide to stick with it at a cost of additional hours. You also need to put in the after hours theory study to make it all work.

"Cannot is a modal verb that means to be unable to do something or to lack permission to do it. It indicates that an action is impossible, forbidden, or incapable of happening." I believe I have used CANNOT correctly.

Yes and no. I chose to drive 2 hours to ShellHarbour rather that drive 45 min to Bankstown on account of (lots of) stories of taxiing for 25 minutes, 10 min to training area and 10 min back. Did not leave an lot of time in a 1 hour lesson for actual learning.

You cannot do a CASA AFR in a RAAus registered aircraft. However, RAAus will accept your CASA AFR and reset your BFR expiry date.

Learn2Fly are the only flight school at Canberra that I am aware of.

How about we start slapping the CEOs of aircraft manufacturers around for not bothering to hire staff to think about ergonomics ? This ain't a $150 bicycle.

Learn2Fly at Canberra have both RAAus and CASA instructors. They have a couple of RAAus Bristells and one CASA registered Bristell as well as half a dozen other CASA aircraft. Not the cheapest.

Second problem is that if there are a few gearboxes that need replacing do Rotax have enough spares in stock ? If my plane was not airworthy for 6 months I would not be happy. Seems to me Rotax have had a number of manufacturing quality control problems in the last 2 years. Makes you wonder what is going on ?

Is warranty 2 years ? If in warranty I guess Rotax cover the removal and inspection and if required gearbox replacement. If outside warranty is there any coverage or are you just expected to cough up $6k plus labour ? Lots of serial numbers in that SB including spare part gearbox only.

Thats a different problem. Your visor will immediately fog up. And when you lift it up your glasses will fog up. How did this get here from VH rego fees ?

"Come on train"

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/572893 https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/vh-sfx#4051a06e

Unless you let the smoke out of the box.

If you are going for a RAAus RPC then there is no formal medical. You simply make a declaration when you join RAAus. About $300-ish per year. If you are going for a CASA RPL or PPL then first you need a ARN. Go to the CASA website and create an account to generate your ARN (Aviation Reference Number). They will ask for some ID documents. No charge for this. Then submit a photo for your ARN. Simplest CASA medical is Class 5. You do a short online course and then make a self declaration where you say you are fit to have a car license and have no major illnesses. You do this in the account you created for your ARN. Costs $10. Restrictions are VFR only, up to 10,000 ft, one passenger and aircraft up to 2000 kg MTOW. Other CASA medicals commonly used by recreational pilots are Class 2 Basic and Class 2. Info here - https://www.casa.gov.au/licences-and-certificates/aviation-medicals/learn-about-medical-certificates/basic-class-2-class-5-medical-self-declaration-and-rampc#BasicClass2medicalcertificate You go to a doctor with higher costs. Less restrictive and able to carry more passengers. If you want to do an IFR endorsement later you will need higher than a class 5 medical. Note if you fail a class 2, class 2 basic or class 1 you cannot go and get a class 5 (ie you are f*cked). Maybe have an informal discussion with a DAME first.

280 km Only 210 km to ShellHarbour (Wollongong)

RAAus - Recreational Aviation Australia Private training/registration organistation 9.000 pilots and 3,000 aircraft registered Pilots can fly VFR only, up to 10,000 ft and light aircraft up to 760 kg MTOW (maximum take off weight) Medical self declaration Hire rates typically $250-300 per hour dual (training). Country schools may be slightly cheaper CASA - Civil Aviation Safety Authority Government aviation god With additional endorsements pilots can fly at night, in IMC (instrument meteorological conditions), over 10,000 ft and heaver aircraft Doctor medicals but recently introduced self declaration which adds similar restrictions to RAAus but allows some heavier planes Private schools licensed by CASA Hire rates typically $350-400 per hour dual (training) Major aerodromes (ie Bankstown, Canberra) can be $50-100 per hour dearer RPC - Recreational pilots certificate (RAAus) RPL - Recreational pilots license (CASA) PPL - Private pilots license (CASA) Hours flown for RPC count for other licenses. It is common to get an RPC and endorsements first due to the cheaper hourly rate and then convert to RPL (flight review required). Additional endorsements such as controlled airspace add additional capability. If you wish to do further, such as IFR (Instrument flight rules) endorsement then you also require a higher level of medical. Ask the school What does your hourly rate include ? Training organisations at small aerodromes would typically include; Instructor pre and post briefing (still requires after hours study from student), plane hire, insurance coverage, headset use, fuel and landing fees at base aerodrome. Some schools have a fuel surcharge at the moment. At some schools (typically at larger aerodromes) sometimes they charge extra for; Instructor briefings, headset hire and local landing fees.

Looks like Canberra aero club does not offer flight training. Learn2Fly offers both RAAus and CASA pilot training at Canberra.