kgwilson

You should modify your opening sentence from which LSA registerable" to "which RA registerable". LSA is a specific category and that restricts the choice.

 

Personally I'd choose the aircraft I built (see my Avatar). All aluminium with fibreglass bits like cowl, spats & wing tips, 75% cruise 125-130 knots, stall 32 knots with full flap, 37knots clean, approx 24-26 lph @120knots, MTOW 600kg in RA category of if built under SAAA & VH registered I think 800kg. IFR just depends upon equipment.

 

 

A lot of the curries are not really Indian food at all, well not from India. Expat Indians who settled in Britain created most of them there. Most of the really good Indian dishes are vegetarian. Hindus don't eat meat. I hardly ate any meat dishes in India when I was travelling around there for 6 months (a long time ago) but I did find the food addictive & found western food incredibly bland when I left. Indians are really good at working out what sells in the market they are in and adjust their cuisine to suit the local taste & so make an even bigger profit.

 

 

Which of the US, UK, Canada and NZ allow you to pilot an aircraft without a pilot's license?

The RAANZ Pilot Certificate allows you to use controlled airspace with the appropriate endorsements. I assume something similar exists in the other countries

 

 

This discussion would not even happen in the US, UK, Canada or NZ. Any pilots from these areas must be quite bemused by it all. The answer is simple. Australia needs to do the same as these countries. Allow access to CTA for any aircraft that has an appropriate transponder, VHF radio & qualified pilot. To enter CTA you request permission with intentions, get a squawk code, press ident, become identified & follow instructions. What could be easier & safer. They know where you are, your height, speed & direction. Maintaining separation is their job. If traffic is getting a bit busy near the airport you will be told to orbit or change course & sometimes altitude.

 

When I first got my PPL (I was trained at a busy RPT airport with a Tower) I was so used to it it felt weird when I went to a non controlled aerodrome. In the aero club bar I would talk to lots of other pilots who had some sort of aversion to flying in CTR which I could never understand. I made a point of flying IN controlled space where possible as it was safer. When they weren't busy they'd even give you course corrections to keep you on track. This was in pre GPS days. I got to personally know a number of controllers & they couldn't be more helpful. The local ones used to come in for a beer & a yarn at the club bar. This was not in Australia.

 

Ab

It may not be part of the exemption but its certainly part of the engine manufacturers requirements.

 

I'll follow up with the raa opps manual.

 

It may well say the same thing in continental and Lycoming manuals for all i know. But either way the rules dont help you much after your deceased.

 

From operators manual (all versions rotax 912)

 

[ATTACH=full]53704[/ATTACH]

A standard statement to cover their arce in case of litigation.

 

 

Has CASA ever given a reason why this archaic rule exists? In NZ back in the 80s I could fly my Hang Glider in controlled airspace (with prior permission) without a radio. All RA aircraft there have the same privilege although they require a transponder like everyone else. RA is not seen as different there. All aircraft are on the same register. Not so here. I agree with dsam it is the divide and rule principle designed to maintain absolute control & shore up their internal culture that no director has been able to shake.

 

 

My GA training back many moons ago in a C150 always included glide approaches when the instructor would pull the throttle somewhere on down wind. I never had to sideslip & that wasn't even taught. The process was to immediately turn for the runway & turn tightly on to final. Judging the height when to do this was paramount. Too high & a couple of zig-zags washed it off. Too low & it was power on (& failed attempt). I never did get it wrong. I only started using sideslip when converting to RA in a Gazelle with no flaps.

 

After I'd test flown my Sierra a bit I adjusted the idle as it was a bit high & then pulled the throttle on final & the engine stopped. I had a good angle & should have landed a hundred metres or more into the strip. There is swampy land before the strip & there can be a bit of sink there so if you are low you sometimes need to give a bit of a blip on the throttle to maintain your slope trajectory. Murphy dictated that the sink was there for this landing & that threw me a bit as it was almost too late for a restart. Anyway I didn't try a restart & landed dead stick about 50 metres into the strip, started up & taxyed 850 metres to the turnoff.

 

Landing a hang glider is always forced as there is no go around. Flying a coastal site back in the 80s with no beach, top landing was essential. The sea breeze was light & then almost disappeared. The other 2 guys were able to top land but I was at the wrong end of the site & got below the top. Waves were crashing against the rocks below & there was a single large rock there about 3 metres or so wide & my only option to get out of my dilemma without damage was to land on it & I did. Sometimes absolute necessity has the ability to really focus the mind. Getting back up the cliff was a 2 hour mission I'd rather forget though.

 

 

Very sad news. Another avoidable fatality. RIP.

 

 

It was at a pretty steep angle and the bank looked pretty much like soft rubble bulldozed there when the runway was built so the undercarriage & engines dug in to stop it sliding in to the sea. Red. Left, Port have fewer letters than Green, Right, Starboard. From a maritime perspective we "Left Port" to sail the ship. I like the alcohol analogy though.

 

 

Wow, it's about time that CASA started regulating the ground. It needs to be clearly specified that the ground is hard and meeting it at a high angle of attack and considerable speed could cause serious harm. It will be difficult for them to place any sort of ban on the ground, but I am sure that with a full and thorough investigation, ministerial inquiry and possibly a Royal Commission and a few billion dollars later they will come up with something absurd.

 

 

A young jackaroo from outback Queensland goes off to university, but halfway through the semester he has squandered all of his money. So he calls home.

 

'Dad,' he says, 'you won't believe what modern education is developing...they actually have a program

 

here in Brisbane that will teach our dog Ol' Blue how to talk.'

 

'That's bloody amazing!' his Dad says.

 

'How do I get Ol' Blue in that program?'

 

'Just send him down here with $12,000,' the young jackaroo says, 'I'll get him in the course.'It's not cheap Dad.

 

So his father sends the dog and $12,000.

 

About two-thirds through the semester, the money again runs out because the sons living high. The boy calls home.

 

'So how's Ol' Blue doing, son?' his father wants to know.

 

'Awesome! Dad, he's talking up a storm, Dad they can't shut the old bugger up but wait...... you just won't believe this.

 

They've had such good results with talking, they've begun to teach the animals how to read.'

 

'Read?' exclaims his father. 'No kidding! How do we get Ol' Blue in that program?'

 

'Just send $14,500. I'll get him in the class.'

 

The money promptly arrives. But our hero has a problem. At the end of the year, his father will find out the dog can neither talk nor read. So he shoots the dog. When he arrives home at the end of the year, his father is all excited.

 

'Where's Ol' Blue? I just can't wait to talk with him, and see him read something!'

 

'Dad', the boy says, 'I have some grim news. Yesterday morning, just before we left to drive home,

 

Ol' Blue I thew him in the back of the ute, he kicked back on his blanket with the latest copy of the the Wall Street Journal. After about 3 hours we stopped for a piss break then he suddenly turned to me and asked, 'So, is your old man still rooting that little redhead barmaid with big tits from the local pub?''

 

The father groans and whispers, 'I hope you shot that bastard before he talks to your Mother!'

 

'I sure did, Dad!'

 

'That's my boy!'

 

The kid went on to be a successful lawyer with Slater and Gordon.

 

 

Back to the slide in, slide out battery exchange, a la the gas bottle exchange at Bunnings..

And as batteries continue to get cheaper, this is the perfect solution for a training scenario. The technology is here and its advancement and growth is exponential. The only real current problem is endurance & my bet is that will be overcome within a very few years.

 

 

If you think electric aircraft for the masses are far off just Google "Electric Aircraft". You will get around 4.9 million results. Airbus will be testing its VTOL unmanned electric aircraft this year and manned next year. It is designed to be pilotless but will have a pilot & 4 passengers until regulations allow.

 

 

This is the report from the local Marlborough Express. The pilot and passenger are not named. Lucky escape from glider crash south of Blenheim

 

It would seem that the wing failed and folded over as it is seen on the ground. This prevented the ballistic parachute from being deployed & the glider then spiralled down like a sycamore seed as Pylon said about 1500 feet. They were very lucky & I bet extremely dizzy on contact with the side of the mountain.

 

 

There are also free Apps to provide Metar & Taf forecasts in plain English on your phone. I use one called Avia Weather & you can set it up for as many aerodromes as you like. The raw data is also available.

 

 

Those aircraft are incredibly well maintained, how many times have you heard of a control surface failure in the past KGWilson. Think about what we know which is my point,call it for what it is and let's not pretend that people don't make errors.

There have been plenty. I had a stuck elevator on a C150 many years ago but still managed to get down OK. AD/General/87 (See The cable saga The cable saga | Flight Safety Australia ) Feb 2015 requires all cables more than 15 years old or of unidentifiable age to be removed & mutilated so they can never be used again. From 2012 to 2015 there were 61 cable unserviceabilities reported to CASA along with 4 cable separations.

 

 

I think it was reported that the pilot had made around 200 flights to and from that location. I'm sure the pilots plan would have been to continue the flight climbing out as he'd done numerous times before & head back to base. What caused the aircraft to make a turn resulting in this tragedy is the answer we need. High on my list are incapacitation or structural/control system fault. I think a basic piloting error would be very unlikely.

 

 

Last time I used Farenheit was when I was at school in the early 1960's - I could Google it (no fun) but what is this in degrees C??

It is cold, about minus 7 deg C. I think the USA is about the only country in the world still using the fahrenheit scale along with gallons, yards, miles, pounds, pints and ounces etc. The UK uses a few but has largely gone metric.

 

 

I went for a fly yesterday. Temperature mid 30s, humidity about 85%. On the ground with the canopy closed before starting the engine it was farking hot. Start up & crack open the canopy & there was instant relief. Once in the air it was great with plenty of air blasting through the NACA vents. My A/C also flies straight & level in a nose down attitude so forward vision is superb and in a turn everything in the turn direction is visible. Also there is no need for a flap indicator as I can see exactly where they are at all times. I was brought up on a diet of C150s & 172s & then went to the dark side of PA28 Archers & preferred them that is why I decided to build a low wing. I like the sports car style seating position of a low wing. Flying a C172 is like driving a truck with such an upright seat & heavy controls to boot. The only disadvantage is getting in as you have to stand on the seat cushion. The Archer also only had one door so the rear passengers had to get in stomping all over the seats then the pilot & lastly the co-pilot or front seat passenger & then I'd have to lean all over them to shut the door & secure the top hatch lock. That also was an advantage when taking a nice young lady for a fly.

 

 

I agree with what he has to say here as well.

 

 

He seems to be good at opening his mouth & putting his foot right in it.

 

 

Or just click reply, highlight the text of the message you don't want to quote, press delete & click post reply. Same result & simpler IMO.

 

 

You don't have to be crazy to fly....but it helps. Merry Christmas to one and all. There is a massive storm about to hit us here according to the radar. 3PM & it's almost dark. Rolling thunder & lots of lightning, strong wind gusts but not much rain so far. I wonder what it looks like from above?

 

 

so what happened about the requirement to have them on the wings and the rudder fin?

The current requirement as per the tech manual is to have the rego numbers on both sides of the fuselage between the wings and tail or on both sides of the vertical tail surfaces with a minimum height of 150mm or if 150mm not possible an application to reduce the size is required. There is also a form to enable change from the old location (under wings) to the new fuselage sides only. The photos don't show the rego so it must have been obscured by the empenage & I'd say somewhat smaller that 150mm

 

 

I agree about the airflow escaping due to creating a low pressure area. I have a 3mm gap around the canopy trailing edge which sucks the air through. The nozzles aren't very big but the air really blasts through. Contrary to the opinion of most people when I was building my aircraft the gap doesn't create any noise. The only time it is a problem is when the aircraft is stopped on the ground & it is raining or being hosed down as a bit of water can get in then. Also the canopy is tinted so that helps a bit too. Taxying with my arm holding the canopy up a bit as in Red photo helps to keep it a bit cooler on the ground.

 

 

I painted the top of my bubble canopy & that means I don't have to wear a hat & with 2 good NACA vents with directional nozzles I don't reckon its any hotter than a high wing Jabiru.