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sfGnome

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Everything posted by sfGnome

  1. sfGnome
    Welcome! Look forward to hearing about your adventures. 🙂
  2. sfGnome
    Updating the pictures for google maps? The detailed ‘satellite’ photos in those maps are done from aircraft.
  3. sfGnome
    Absolutely! Even more so, GET cool and methodical, even if you have to break out of the circuit for a few minutes to compose yourself. Another memory to bore you with. I did something dumb (no idea what now) during a solo T&G, and I was berating myself all the way down downwind. Suddenly realised that I was so busy worrying about what had been that I wasn’t thinking about what was to come, and it was the ‘what was to come’ that could kill me. Got my head back into gear and all was fine, but it could have gone so wrong… 😑
  4. sfGnome
    I wouldn’t be too worried about finding a reason for the bad day. I remember one day when I was a bit further on in my training than you are now when everything should have been perfect; nice weather, well rested, enthusiastic for the lesson. Before we started that day’s topic (something new and exciting), the boss said to do one circuit and I screwed it up mightily. Hmmm, he sez. Better do another. Likewise crap. And another. And another. Spent most of that lesson just doing the circuits that I’d been doing fine (in much more difficult conditions) for many weeks. There was no obvious reason, and it never happened again (which is not to mean that I never did anything stupid after that, just that I never had that total brain block for an extended period again).
  5. sfGnome
    You and me both. I saw a picture of that plane when I was about 8 and thought “I could build that”, and the thought has never left me. I’ve been staring at the sky ever since.
  6. sfGnome
    Not yet... Have a chat with Peter at AeroKits. The one on that video was built in South Africa and imported.
  7. sfGnome
    Took me a while… 😂😂
  8. sfGnome
    I’ve flown into that strip a few times. One way, surrounded by mountains on three sides. There’s no way you’d choose to fly out of there in bad weather. This wasn’t bad training; it was Darwinism in action. 🤨
  9. sfGnome
    I’ve flown this inland route a number of times. On a nice day, it’s a lovely sightseer. On a rough day, it’s awful. No escape from the turbulence. The extra height in the first section will be good. I’ve only done the coastal route once (with a suitably licensed pilot). It was interesting seeing the sharks swimming near the surfers… 🫣
  10. sfGnome
    Looking at your pictures, it seems that ‘flat’ is definitely in short supply! As an aside, I see that you’ve purchased one of those new, ultra-low efficiency props… 😝
  11. sfGnome
    I always listen to area (as a second frequency when I’m within 10 miles of a CTAF AD), regardless of the activity on there. I’ve been warned a few of times about other traffic, and once (embarrassingly) that my transponder had failed and showed me flying through the middle of Sydney’s northern approach when I was actually under the step. I think it’s worth putting up with a bit of chatter.
  12. sfGnome
    Hmmm… I know some people (my son, for instance) who’d do +/-10G aerobatics faced with that. My beloved, on the other hand, would calmly ask me to please take it outside; a tad difficult at 1500’. 🙄
  13. sfGnome
    I’ve always dreamed of having an autopilot, just for alt and heading hold on the long legs (or to give my beloved some time and help if I had a medical incident), but I briefly flew with one for the first time recently on a day where there was a just bit of bounce in the air and the AP fought it like crazy. 😵‍💫 Really uncomfortable. Maybe ok on a totally smooth day, but how often do we get one of those? 🤷🏼‍♂️
  14. sfGnome
    A really interesting close up of the Spitfire, but thank goodness for you-tube’s 2x speed setting as the voiceover is incredibly tedious. 🙄
  15. sfGnome
    Used to be about 50 min which was ok(ish). I could drive up before work, do an hour’s circuits or whatever and get to work before morning tea (it’s ok, I worked late 😛). THEN, we moved to a 2 hour drive, meaning an hour’s circuits meant 4 hours of driving. My flying tapered off pretty drastically and we sold up. ☹️ My advice, 30 min good, >60 min bad, 5 min ecstatic!
  16. sfGnome
    Thanks. I really enjoy reading them, particularly the one-off oddities.
  17. sfGnome
    Two things to think about. 1. His phone won’t have been yelling “you’re low!”, it would have just gone ‘bing’, and were constantly told to ignore phone messages when we’re driving. 2. Diabetics who are having a hypo are often thought by bystanders to be drunk. I guess it’s a bit like hypoxia in that once it has taken hold, the sufferer is no longer in a position to deal with it. There but for the grace…
  18. sfGnome
    Geez. When I land, I’m normally looking to empty mine… (Sorry, it’s late and I couldn’t resist. 🙄)
  19. sfGnome
    Yes, it’s the engine, the airframe and how it is all put together. I limited my initial question because a) it was the engine that I was not confident about, and b) at that stage I didn’t realise the scope of the issue. Now I know… 🙂
  20. sfGnome
    Ok. I’ve had a chat with tech at RAAus, and here’s my understanding of the situation (no guarantees that I’ve got it 100% correct 🫣). Approval to fly over closely settled areas is a CASA issue. RAAus has no jurisdiction in this area. There is an RAAus employee who, putting his private hat on, is a CASA Approved Person (AP) and can issue the required document. In fact, any AP can issue it, though many charge significant amounts to do so (because, as I think Nev & Turbo noted, they take the legal liability for doing so). Many classes of RAAus aircraft are automatically covered; LSA, legacy, etc. However, amateur built after the introduction of XYZ piece of legislation (I think 10 and 19 rego) are not, and require the aforementioned approval. As you can imagine, no one is hovering over Sydney’s northern VFR lane, inspecting approval documents as you fly past, but if you do have to do an unintended glide approach to some park, road (or roof!) and you don’t have CASA approval, then your insurers may have something to say about it… 😳
  21. sfGnome
    Well, I’ve been given two answers For RAAus rego; your one that said that approval was required, and Skippy’s that says there is no letter of authority (ie approval). What I don’t want to do is drop significant dollars on an engine and then find that it is restricted, and so given that there’s not a clear agreement, I’ll go to the source (which is somewhat slower). As I said, thanks to all who commented, including your comments which were very helpful.
  22. sfGnome
    Thanks all for your comments. Although not necessarily applicable to an RAAus registered craft, Onetrack’s SAAA link was very interesting - particularly the risk assessment section (my googling found some SAAA docs, but not that one). Looks like I’ll have to bother the RAAus tech folk again. I seem to have them on speed dial lately. 🙄
  23. sfGnome
    Possibly this has been discussed before, but I’ve spent the last few hours googling to no avail. My understanding is that for flight over built up areas, the engine must be of some ‘approved’ type. I also understand that this does not mean ‘certified’, so in general such types as Rotax and Jabiru are acceptable. Is that correct so far? If so, then my real question is, how much modification renders the engine unacceptable? For instance, does adding a big bore kit to a Rotax make it unacceptable for such flight? Does a modified engine such as those from Edge pass or fail the acceptability test? For that matter, who decides (and how do they decide) what is acceptable?
  24. sfGnome
    No. I'm saying that everyone has stated their case over and over, and clearly no one is going to change their mind. For this reason only, the discussion has become pointless. In fact, even this reply is pointless, so I'll stop.
  25. sfGnome
    I remember when I was a kid, spending a heap of time gathering information to support my contention that Holdens were better than Fords. Of course, the reason for my certainty was that my dad had a Holden, and the reprobate that I was arguing with’s dad had a Ford. Neither of us were old enough to drive, but the certainty of our positions were absolute. What’s my point? This entire ‘discussion’ (although the term ‘discussion’ implies listening to the other party in an attempt to learn and come to some agreement) bears a distinct resemblance to to pointless arguments of my youth. We don’t think about ROI when buying a car any more than we do when choosing a plane. We buy (or rent) one that fits our needs, budget and personal predilections. Some of us like ICEs, some of us like EVs. It’s all good. Now, can we get back to talking about aircraft and flying and stop shouting at each other about things we’ll never agree on? Please?
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