FlyingVizsla

Video captures moment stowaway cat emerges on wing of plane in French Guiana http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-23/cat-hitches-ride-on-plane/6565588 A stowaway cat gave a South American pilot the surprise of his life when it emerged, clinging to the wing of a plane, mid-flight. ------- I didn't have the patience to watch the video as it takes about 1-2 mins to do a one second spurt (due to my slow internet) but it does say it all ends happily.

And on this website too - go to Menu - Resources.

Here's the ABC report (with picture) for those of us who are not subscribers to the Advertiser) http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-10/plane-crash-mallee-highway-elwomple/6534412?section=sa

Sport Pilot June 2015 - Page 37 - the Assistant Ops manager is looking for the real 10-0001. See The Search for Number 1 http://issuu.com/michaellinke/docs/sport_pilot_jun_2015 Would someone like to respond to him pls? Sue

June Sport Pilot is available - http://issuu.com/michaellinke/docs/sport_pilot_jun_2015 I am reading it now; in Springsure on a better internet connection - seamless and easy. Just finished Letters to the Ed and the President's column. Sue

There are a number of current RAA Board members who have flown 95-10, if not the majority. I don't know every one, but I guess Middo, Eugene, Michael Apps, Rod Birrell, Major Millard, Trevor Bange, Ed Smith and others who have been around a long time, started on 95-10s. The 95-10s are not forgotten, they are just disappearing. We have a Scout. My husband is now too heavy to get it off the ground (although I still could) but it is hanging up in the shed with little will to pull it out and re-cover the wings. Same with the Turbulent also hanging from the shed roof - all the glued joints are suspect due to age, and little will to do the massive job to get it airworthy. The Karasport is operable, but requires re-rigging and a lot of paperwork (plans, dataset etc) before RAA will allow continued registration. I can't see how allowing 2 seaters; kit or factory built modern aircraft is stopping the 95-10s - I think we bought our demise on ourselves. 95-10 is one of the most complex segments of RAA. It is easy to register mass produced planes, but by their very nature (scratch built, own design, plans built, tweaked and altered, one-offs etc) each 95-10 has to be individually assessed. Flying has also become more sociable, people wanting 2 seats to take a mate, to go places, women also want to participate; wives and girlfriends wanting to savour the experience their partners find so attractive. People are less likely to make things these days. They want the instant solution right out of the box, and have the money to do it. Sadly, that means less 'minimum aircraft'.

The constitution requires 2 face to face meetings. No matter where you hold them, the Board have to travel. There are 13 of them. Given the distance it is not possible to fly in & out for a one day, over-nights come into it. We expect the President to be up front & centre on issues such as Jab engines, CASA liaison, media interviews and meeting the people. Most of the Board have jobs or businesses and have to take time off to attend. As Maj Millard says, they don't get the red carpet treatment, nor do they want it, as they are aware it is members' money being spent, and they too are members. If you want to reduce the expenditure, the constitution would have to be changed, the geographic spread of Board members has to change or the number reduced. That is in the hands of the members. If you want an alternative 'minimum aircraft' association, it could only survive if it did not issue licences and therefore oversee FTFs and I suspect there being so few of the 95.10 types left that it would be a very small club indeed. Setting up an alternative body is not as easy as it sounds. It could not exist without CASA's Sport Aviation Office approval as a Self Administering Organisation, and that would require a good deal of paperwork to show safety & compliance (think Ops & Tech manuals) and management. If you think you can run a national organisation with only volunteers who fund their work out of their own pockets, then you are going to be very disappointed. Sue

Go to the Members only area of RAA website - Financials - every month's expenditure is there. You can see the breakdown as follows: Board Expense:- Accommodation Travel Reimbursement Other Expenses Meals & Beverages Secretarial - Expenses Elections Telecards Meeting - Expenses Treasurer Expenses President Expenses Meetings RAAus AGM RAAus Speical Members Meeting Other Meetings/Conferences The current Board has also put an end to spouses' expenses being covered for meetings, fly-ins etc. The Board members don't receive a stipend for their voluntary service - if they are required to attend a meeting in Canberra from their home in Perth, Darwin, North Qld, Tasmania; it is only fair that their basic expenses are covered (accommodation, travel etc most of which is organised by the RAA office). Have a read and then start an informed discussion. Sue

AUF / RAA had only one fatal accident in 1996 and 2008, we are not dealing with insurmountable numbers like the national road toll. See the statistics and analysis here http://www.recreationalflying.com/tutorials/safety/intro2.html#accident_stats by John Brandon. If zero seems too high a target, perhaps "less than the 5 year average" or "less than last year" or a "Fatality Free Friday" or even nominate a Fatality Free month and push education and awareness the month before. When I hear people saying "you can't have zero" I ask, "well what number do you want?" I can see the slogan now "We aim for 5 fatalities a year" and wonder to myself about some deranged bureaucrat demanding the other 4 fatalities when we only achieved one. Ahh KPIs! Sue

Thanks for the comments Andy. As anyone who has been a Treasurer (or accountant) knows, the totals are only as good as the dissection of the data in the first place. Accounts are usually paid, say, 30 days after the bill, which represents the work done a month or more before that. As treasurer for a number of organisations, I felt like I was presiding over a slow moving train wreck, the cause of which was about 2 years previous. The figures for July 2014 to Dec 2014 are in the RAA Members section, and I would encourage people to have a look at them. It is a very good report, far better than any I have seen out of RAA to date. Jim & the CEO have done an excellent job on the analysis. Having a look at the magazine, there appears to be two payments in one month - just as Andy mentioned. So here are the 6 months July-Dec 2014: INCOME Members Market Advertising $ 28,302.74 Magazine Sales $ 6,649.91 EXPENDITURE RAA Publications $ 213,955.45 **about 7 month's worth & possibly not all magazine. There is no doubt RAA costs are going up (read about it on Jim's report), so the Board had to look at what is achievable. The magazine is a glossy quality publication, but it's primary purpose was to inform members of Board business, rule changes and to encourage safety. According to RAA 97% of members have email. They could have decided to can the magazine and only communicate by email & letter. This is a compromise - we still get the magazine, either immediately; or a few weeks later for a few dollars more. If the membership fee had gone up due to rising magazine costs, there would have been complaints that "I don't read it". I am on a slow internet, but if it comes attached to an email, it will pop up once it has loaded. When I looked at it on the web, it was downloading at about the speed I was reading. I read the May magazine on-line, then forgot I had, and when the magazine turned up in the letterbox, I kept thinking "I've read this somewhere", it being so long between one and the other. If the experiment doesn't work, we can always go back to the paper magazine.

Had a look at the RAA financials - unfortunately June 2014 was not available in the monthly format and only the summary version (the audited statement for submission to the ACT Dept of Justice & Community Safety) was available. So these figures are for 11 months only. The magazine costs have not been completely dissected as there may be other items included in the likes of "RAA Publications" and there is no dissection of wages - leaving no indication of how much it costs to administer. Now, with all these qualifications in mind, here are the figures. INCOME Members Market Advertising $ 23,139.99 Magazine Sales $ 7,184.10 EXPENDITURE RAA Publications $ 226,168.17 Therefore COST COVERED BY MEMBERSHIP = $195,844.08 (11 months), approx $213,650.00 for 12 months. Andy's estimates may cover more of the hidden costs (wages etc). Interesting to note the cost of stationery and postage = $58,930.07. It shows the cost of a paper based system; and add to that staff handling of each bit of paper; printing, enveloping, to/from post office, opening, distributing, filing, storage etc. A modern system would save some of that.

From my recollection, some years ago, the magazine contract was awarded to the same group (Brian Bigg's Stampils Publishing) who produce the AOPA magazine. Kreisha Ballantyne went from contributor to Deputy Editor Sport Pilot, and is now Editor of AOPA. It was hoped that an aviation based publisher would be better placed to vet articles; a few doubtful ones had slipped through previously; and produce some savings in production and attracting advertisers. It was in the minutes or the magazine, I can't remember but could possibly find it. I will have a look at the financials and post soon. Sue

Several news outlets are describing it as a Gyrocopter (Seven, Yahoo, Ten etc), so I suppose they copied each other. I have not found the police media statement yet. They usually just copy that. Here's the picture from Yahoo https://au.news.yahoo.com/qld/a/28283794/man-dies-in-gyrocopter-crash-in-qld/

From the ABC News - http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-28/pilot-dies-in-helicopter-crash-near-mitchell-in-south-west-qld/6505230?section=qld Pilot dies in helicopter crash at remote Queensland property near Mitchell A man has been killed in a helicopter crash about 80 kilometres north of Mitchell, in south-west Queensland, authorities say. A Queensland Ambulance Service spokesman said the chopper went down about 5:30pm (AEST) on Thursday on a remote property, killing the pilot, who was the sole occupant. It is not yet known what caused the crash.

From the ABC News http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-30/man-dies-in-gyrocopter-crash-central-queensland/6509080?section=qld A man has died in a gyrocopter crash in central Queensland. A Queensland Ambulance spokesman said they were called out to a private property at Theodore, south-west of Gladstone, at about 8:30am. The pilot - a man in his 50s - was pronounced dead at the scene. Police will be investigating the crash on behalf of the coroner. A man has died in a gyrocopter crash in central Queensland.

We get two magazines to the same address. I am happy to go digital, but my husband likes the feel of glossy paper. Now he says he does not want the printed magazine. We are getting the important bits by email and off the RAA website and pictures of the fly-ins on this forum. The magazine was started to keep members informed about AUF matters, but then grew to being a glossy magazine that costs thousands of dollars to print and post. The survey shows that most respondents are not willing to pay the full cost, which is going up again as Australia Post fees increase and service decreases. Pilot Certificate holders have to remain members to keep flying, but some of the Non-Flying members may rethink their $100 as the magazine is the only tangible benefit. I gather take-up of the print magazine has been slow, given the offer of 6 months bonus for the first 1,000 subscribers. Don't shoot Andy - it was a Board decision and there are 12 others in this. Sue

Sorry about the resignation, as I think you were good value. Being an unpaid Board member on something the size and importance of RAA certainly takes it out of you - particularly if you want to do a good job of it. I really appreciated your posts. I am also looking for work and living off savings, so I know the pressures that brings, particularly as I wanted to work until I decided to retire, rather than have the job finish prematurely. Family must come first. All the best for the future! Sue

Some pictures: http://www.maitlandmercury.com.au/story/3099548/lovedale-cafe-owner-tells-of-fatal-plane-crash-photos/?cs=171#slide=12

My personal thoughts are that, should RAA cease, a commercial organisation would take over and charge what they want, or what the market will bear, as a monopoly. They could pick up the existing staff & structure. I don't think CASA would be keen on ultralights becoming VH en masse any more than SAAA would be keen on administering them and the FTFs. Sue

Andy, On the farm we get (if we are lucky) one bar on the mobile, so poor signal from 8km (as the crow flies) on the other side of the hills. Telstra shop said they would never allow us to have ADSL on our landline (we went through TPG before we got that advice). At Springsure we are within 1-2km of the exchange, but our copper wire is woeful. It was to be replaced with the wireless NBN last year, but change of Govt and we missed out to more populated areas. Doubt it will be upgraded now. Not eligible for satellite on the farm (even though both Telstra services - mobile and landline - are too slow), Telstra still claims the mobile service is "city speeds". I go to town with the dongle to get service. Sue

Tried the idea of a larger aerial, however we were advised that it would not boost the signal, just pick it up (as we do now) and make it available inside the house, or where ever we set up the base unit, so we can enjoy a weak signal without being confined to a small space. The tower is simply too far away. Telstra based their coverage on a tower that does not exist (yet). In response to constant complaints, they said there was a software glitch in it and after we repeatedly said it did not exist, they finally admitted it had not been built. Our tower is about 8km away with the signal coming through a gap in the hills. At Springsure the signal drops out 5km out of town and doesn't re-emerge until 170km later down the Highway to Tambo, and then only in isolated spots. The rural areas are still way behind the rest of the country. Without the infrastructure, there is no other way to fix it. IridiumGo is $850USD to buy, $50/month and $1.50 per minute for data (they say it is not ADSL speed). Try doing Windows & software updates on that.

Internet is very slow here on the farm (ADSL2 on landline) The worst - Test run on [*06/04/2015*] @ [*11:09 AM*], Your download speed is [*1 KB/s*] (0 MB/s), The best - Test run on [*18/02/2015*] @ [*09:48 AM*], Your download speed is [*45 KB/s*] (0.04 MB/s), On the Telstra mobile broadband - Best ever - Test run on 01/01/2015 @ 08:26 AM, Your download speed is [*31 KB/s*] (0.03 MB/s) The worst - being so slow it can't run the speed test. We are not eligible for satellite because (according to Telstra), their mobile signal is similar to city speeds, and according to their coverage map, we should have good coverage inside and outside our house and all over the property. Reality is the signal is only in a narrow band where you have to be outside on the upper deck of our highset house to get one bar. Move 2 steps and the signal is lost. Telstra say they would not have allowed us an ADSL connection on our landline because of the distance from the exchange. NBN is not coming to our neck of the woods in the next 5 years. I travel to town to get Telstra's mobile network and do most of my downloading and surfing from there. So a 35MB pdf would take 15 minutes to 9.7hrs on the landline. I can wait.

You could consider lime or cement stabilisation (a common practice in low-cost road construction with poor cohesive soils). I have done both in Western Qld. Lime is not the agricultural variety, it is quicklime or hydrated lime. It only works with certain soils, usually reactive clays (clays swell and shrink/crack when wet & dry). A soil lab can test a sample to tell you if it will work. Lime takes time (months) to reach its full strength but that is weighed against the cost and efficiency of construction. Read about it here http://www.auststab.com.au/technotes/TNote01.pdf Cement works with nearly anything I have come across. A soil lab can test to determine the % for target strength, but from my experience 1.5% - 2.5% will get you a road surface suitable for Heavy Vehicles and traffic volumes for a minor rural highway. The cement powder is spread over the area to be treated, then mixed in to your calculated depth - for road construction that is 120mm deep. Just add water - then the orchestra cranks up - mix, roll, roll, grade, roll, trim as quickly as possible (don't leave it till next weekend) as the chemical reaction starts with water (provided it was dry when spread) and it will set like - well concrete - but not as hard. Read about it here http://www.auststab.com.au/technotes/TNote05.pdf You can construct an all-weather road down the middle of you paddock - which you would need in wet weather for the tractor and other "essential transport" and you may be able to do it using existing farm equipment - spreader, tynes, spray tanks, towed roller etc. I get the stuff in tankers, but it does come in one tonne bags. If you can, try to get it level and a small slope to allow water to run off, and pay attention to drainage. Sue

Now the big question:- Why was the magazine survey completely ignored? - KP When was it and what were the results? If you know, please tell. I seem to remember criticism that AUF/RAA were just stockpiling money (ie overcharging members for services) which led to this "reserve". I also remember that our fees went up under SR & ST's administration. The level of compliance went down. The magazine was outsourced. Members were asking "why?" The organisation should have been keeping abreast of 'best practice' to ensure compliance and to keep costs down. Instead it was neglected and cost us a lot in extra wages etc to get back to compliance. Remember all those failed audits that we didn't hear about? Some of the language from SR on this forum was strident - remember the remark about 'the real Major'? I can see frustration, and I can understand some people upset about having to pay for a print magazine, but is it just a resistance to change, or is there a valid reason. I am on a very slow internet connection, yet I am happy to get an emailed PDF (it may take some time to download) and I can print & bind a copy for my husband, which we can then leave at the clinic or hangar. I think this Board is doing a very good job with what they inherited. Rego & Pilot Certs are turning around promptly. Costs centres are being dissected much better than they had been previously. One thing I will give SR, is that he started to get costs allocated to rough cost centres, but until now, no one could say how much each function cost (Ops, Tech, Mag, etc), all they could say was Wages & Salaries cost this much.

I have used a sheet of greenish plastic from Ian's shop http://www.savemoreonline.com.au/home-and-garden/home/other-home-products/sun-screen/ Not a permanent solution, as it is removable, but it stays in place with static electricity; works on my C152 windscreen and also car and home windows. A wipe or wash, followed by a rub keeps it sticking reliably. A good cheap solution. Sue