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cscotthendry

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Everything posted by cscotthendry

  1. cscotthendry
    I'm a bit puzzled by your logic. No one was blaming the pilot's confusion over daylight savings on having or not having a radio. What I DID say is that if he had had a radio, he would most likely have been able to catch his error before arriving at the circuit. That simple fact is indisputable.
  2. cscotthendry
    Yes, I guess that is technically correct, but the program was laid out in local times. If it had been set out in GMT that may have helped with the DLS confusion, but it brings its own level of confusion when pilots have to convert from GMT to local. Again, a clock in the cockpit running GMT would help there I guess. Hmmm .....
  3. cscotthendry
    I think I get where you're coming from, but the case of the Evans Head fly in (IMO) kind of overruns your sentiment. There was a great effort made to inform pilots of the procedures in this case, and indeed the pilot in question was informed about the procedures. He made a simple mistake about timing and having a radio would have given him the chance to discover his mistake BEFORE he got to the circuit area. As Kaz suggested, if the P-51 had not had a radio, or there was another radio-less aircraft doing the demonstration, things could have turned out quite differentlt at GEFI. BTW, I have to admit that I also made the same mistake as the drifter pilot, but (1) My arrival time slipped me into the circuit 5 minutes before the display started, and (2) I heard the warning calls on my radio just as I was on short final.
  4. cscotthendry
    In this particular case, the pilot of the drifter HAD all the relevant NOTAMs and even had a sheet on his kneeboard (or whatever) with the display times highlighted. He is to be given credit for being as informed as possible, and he mad a simple mistake concerning daylight savings... HOWEVER, had he had a radio, all would have been well. Had the Mustang NOT had a radio as well, it could have been a disaster. I don't get where you're going about the reliability of radios though. Are you suggesting that it shouldn't be mandatory for radios at these types of fly ins because some aircraft have dodgy installations or poorly maintained equipment?
  5. cscotthendry
    It was a great Eastern Fly In, although it was fairly humid. I will be posting some video when I have it edited in a couple of days.
  6. cscotthendry
    REALLY? You don't acknowledge the potential for disaster that was there? What if the drifter hadn't been spotted in time? What if there had been a mid-air and one or both aircraft had come down in the crowd? Because the above scenario didn't happen, you think it's no big deal?
  7. cscotthendry
    If you had been at Evans Head on the weekend you wouldn't have posted that. A radio-less drifter blundered into the middle of a flying demonstration by a P-51 mustang. Sure, this didn't become an "accident" but it very easily could have. That is only one incident that I know of caused by an aircraft without a radio. I would bet London to a brick there are many more. Had the drifter in question had a radio, he would have heard the calls by the ground operator announcing the start of the demonstration and warning approaching aircraft to remain at least 5 miles clear of the field. His error was a simple mix up regarding daylight savings, but if he had had a radio, this would not have resulted in the demonstration incursion.
  8. cscotthendry
    Bruce: Having a radio in the aircraft in no way absolves the pilot from keeping a lookout, nor was this suggested in my original post. The radio is our means to alert other pilots to our intentions and presence. They are still required to LOOK. In the same way as cars having turn signals and brake lights doesn't mean that the drivers don't have to watch traffic.
  9. cscotthendry
    Interesting thought. There seemed to be a few aircraft without radios at GEFI, or at least if they had radios, they weren't on the correct frequency or weren't working properly.
  10. cscotthendry
    Karen: Welcome to flying and the forums. I had a brief read of your blog. Love your sense of humor esp the bit about always flying with a fabulous hairdo! Looking forward to seeing the pics of your flyin travels. Your Cirrus will take you to anywhere you want to go, just ask Ryan Campbell. Happy landings, and smooth flying.
  11. cscotthendry
    I know this will be contentious with some flyers but I believe this discussion needs to be had. IMHO aircraft without radios are like cars without brake lights or turn signals. They're fine for paddock-bashing, but in traffic they are a menace. I've just returned from the Evans Head fly in where radio-less aircraft caused confusion and dangerous situations in the traffic. I think that aircraft without radios should not be allowed to attend fly ins where there will be significant traffic, but most particularly where high powered aircraft are performing aerial displays near the airfield. This could be done by implementing the equivalent of CTAF® by NOTAM for the fly in.
  12. cscotthendry
    Is the Pope Catholic? Are the Kennedys gun shy? Also works the other way round...
  13. cscotthendry
    At the risk of starting a range war, I never saw the attraction of soccer. I do understand soccer hooliganism though. The frustration of fans after 90 scoreless minutes must be excruciating. It would be something akin to 90 minutes of coitus interruptus!
  14. cscotthendry
    I saw that about the gift cards on the tv and thought that sounded like legalised theft. Your point about gift card sales for Christmas makes it even worse. Although, it was very prominent in the news that DSE were in financial trouble before Christmas. That should have made some people think twice about gift cards from them.
  15. cscotthendry
    Well, we like to think they're blockbusters, but they probably aren't even pebblechippers.
  16. cscotthendry
    Depends on how much gear you have. This is what I use It's from Jaycar and you can organize it to suit.
  17. cscotthendry
    Your point is well made. But from what I read though, even gentle turns can get you into trouble if they're not coordinated. For example, using too much rudder to sharpen the base/final turn is said to be a killer for stalling a wing. Since I read that, I am super careful about my base / final turn. I have looked down a couple of times when turning final and see how little room there is for recovering from a wing stall. It scares me so I take extra care there. Flying-wise it is very close to the ground. Falling-wise, it is a looong way down.
  18. cscotthendry
    Thnx, wasn't aware of that, but my partial defence of CASA still stands I think.
  19. cscotthendry
    More info please...
  20. cscotthendry
    The problem stems from our aviation regulator being our aviation safety body. Everyone knows the "safest" airplane is one that never leaves the hangar and that is unfortunately how CASA operates. What we need is to separate the safety body from the regulatory body, and to give the regulatory body a different mission with regard to aviation. In the US, the FAA is charged with promoting aviation, and is the regulatory body. The NTSB is charged with making aviation "safe" but it has little power with regard to regulations, and so needs the cooperation of the FAA to implement its safety policies. In the US, if one pilot does something stupid, the NTSB might want a whole bunch of new rules, but the FAA will filter that through how it will affect aviation in a more realistic and holistic way. It's very popular to CASA bash here in Oz, but the problem is in CASA's mission definition.
  21. cscotthendry
    In some airplanes, the numbers can be quite critical, for example, the stall angle of the wing of a replica Spitfire. The guy who tried to take off at Watts Bridge without lifting the tail wheel can verify this now. So yes, in some cases it's important to know numbers. However, in most instances with well designed sport aircraft, the pilot can tell by feel when it is wrong as something will be quite different to his usual flying experience. For example, the nose might be pointing way too high, or the controls feel way too light. Mostly it is near the stall that we recognise when things are wrong, but there are probably times when the very adventurous go to places they weren't taught, like doing aerobatics in a drifter, that a pilot may come to grief by not knowing "the numbers".
  22. cscotthendry
    I really don't mind being asked these and other "dumb" questions. In fact I really enjoy talking about my flying (maybe a little too much) and I always assume the person is genuinely interested in how my plane works rather than checking to see whether I'd qualify as a test pilot. RickH, I taught computer engineering for 15 years and I learned that there is no such thing as a "dumb" question, only ones that don't get asked.
  23. cscotthendry
    We're hoping to go down Friday and return Monday. But if I can't get a solid read on the weather I won't chance getting stuck there. There has been a lot of rain and flooding further south which doesn't bode well.
  24. cscotthendry
    I've lost count of the number of times I've been asked questions like; What distance does it take you to get off the ground / land? or How fast are you going when you land / takeoff? How far out do you go before you turn base? etc etc. I don't have specific answers for these questions, but the questioner is always looking for specifics. Maybe I'd be a better pilot if I knew the answers to the numbers around flying. But I know what my plane feels like when it's flying correctly and I know what it feels like when I start going near the boundaries. A friend said to me "Fly in the middle of the air, not near the edges." and that's what I do.
  25. cscotthendry
    And the other 10% into noise.
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