Garfly

Yes, in its Closest Points page OzRunways shows BRG (from) any waypoint (not only airports/VORs) as R-XXX degrees which needs to be translated to the nearest quarter quadrant for CTAF comms. Anyway, for that precision, a glance at the Map Page is enough to show distance/bearing from the runway.

Well, Nev, there's no excuse for anyone here with an EFB being unable to do it. A quick tap and glance gives instant distance and bearing from ALL nearby points. In this example: "32.4 NM on the 201 radial (or SSW) from YPMQ." would be the quick reply. (Or, the displayed position from any other place on the list.)

Yeah, when it comes to that, this ATSB video on the Mangalore accident is worth another look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWt57chwc8U

Agreed, Skippy, but that's sort of what I meant by 'strip'. Maybe 'layer' would work better.

Yeah, good comms and a sharp lookout work pretty well most of the time. But in this episode of the Flying Reporter (UK) we see how hard it can be to get a good mental picture of just who is where in a busy circuit, despite everyone's best efforts to talk, look and listen. After all, just the term "downwind" can indicate a strip of air a mile long and half-a-mile wide. Sure, getting on the blower can help narrow the search but, at the same time, we're trying to keep the chat down when it's busy. Anyway, the relevant bit of the vid is 08:00 to 18:00:

A US perspective from a recent Air Facts Journal: What's wrong with the teardrop pattern entry : Air Facts Journal AIRFACTSJOURNAL.COM Having solved the impossible turn and other manufactured crises, the aviation training industry (or at least some YouTubers and keyboard warriors) has now turned its attention to the teardrop pattern entry...

This 30 minute piece by John Oliver (from 6 months ago) is a seriously funny take on the whole Boeing fiasco. He brings it all together in an entertaining, but super well researched, package. There's nothing especially new in it for anyone who's followed the story closely, however, the parody of the Boeing corporate ad at the end (from around 25:00) is definitely worth a watch IMHO.

Generally (with exceptions) the not-below-500' rule applies in Australia (over sparsely populated areas). See VFRG pp. 44-49 https://www.casa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-02/visual-flight-rules-guide.pdf Whereas flight below 500' is generally allowed in the US (the exceptions are outlined by Trent Palmer in the video.) According to the FAA AIM: "While 14 CFR Part 91.119 allows flight below 500 AGL when over sparsely populated areas or open water, such operations are very dangerous."

ABC's Four Corners on the complicated failure of Rex Airlines. Screening tonight 30 Sep. 24 Flight Club - ABC News WWW.ABC.NET.AU Four Corners is the home of Australian investigative journalism. Meanwhile, a kind of preview in this radio program:

Trent Palmer's take on this issue is interesting, given his own run-ins with the FAA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCwj9iKVUF4 (Obviously, in Oz, we don't have the same freedoms they do in the US around low level ops.)

"All the world is queer save thee and me, and even thou art a little queer." Robert Owen (1771 -1858) ;- )

BTW, this video gives some insight into what's involved in such testing - at least in the US. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj5F1FFPYb8&t=781s At 24 mins it's longer than it needs to be but for peeps with enough interest, it might be worth the slog.

Yeah, yours is a Mode A/C transponder, Moneybox. advisory-circular-91-23-ads-b-enhancing-situational-awareness.pdf This CASA Advisory Circular (updated a year back) is pretty informative and shows the regulator's current thinking about ADSB gear for the VFR mob. A possibly relevant bit: "4.4 About Mode A/C Transponders Mode A/C transponders are obsolete technology that have been replaced or are in the process of being replaced in most parts of the world by Mode S transponder technology. Australia already requires IFR aircraft to have a Mode S transponder as an essential component of ADS-B OUT equipment. For VFR aircraft, there are circumstances where a Mode S transponder is required, specifically: for operations at major capital city aerodromes for aircraft manufactured on or after 6 February 2014 where a VFR aircraft is modified by having its transponder installation replaced. Aircraft owners who continue to use an older Mode A/C transponder should be aware that older transponders may appear to function correctly and be able to pass routine pressure altitude encoder testing, yet be unserviceable because no longer meets the full performance requirements. For example, CAO 100.5 and airworthiness directive (AD) AD/RAD/47 identifies that transponders using electron tube technology (such as cavity oscillators) may suffer from reply pulse anomalies as the components age. The CAO or AD (as applicable) requires periodic testing for such anomalies and, if detected, requires repair or replacement. Since the cost of repairing a transponder by replacing its cavity oscillator is significant, the cost-effective solution is likely to be replacement transponder. In this case, a Mode S transponder is the logical choice. " Also, a search of this site will turn up heaps of (locally oriented) discussion on transponders and "conspicuity devices" such as SkyEcho2s

Absolutely. No tool covers all the angles, including (and maybe in the case above, especially) the Mk2 eyeball. But then, the ATSB has been warning for decades against excessive faith in the human eye, in the sky (even in the absence of aerial cowboys) : see_and_avoid_report_print copy 2.pdf But sure, fixating on any one SA source (inside or out) isn't good; we have to learn to use new awareness tools intelligently. As has been said before, safe driving calls for skilfully splitting one's attention between three mirrors and the view out front. You'd come to grief quick-smart fixating on just one of your mirrors. But who'd willingly go out on the highway without those multi-view gadgets attached? Anyway, it'd be illegal and I reckon soon it'll be the same to fly any flying machine without ADSB (for similar reasons).

Yes, Juan explains (c. 04:40) that the Cessna PIC told him they'd tried to find the Swift on the ADSB-IN screen when they couldn't locate it by looking outside. Juan's hypothesis involves the classic high-wing/low-wing mutual occlusion scenario.

Skippy, below are a few random screenshots. OzRwys uses the light blue symbols for its own in-house traffic system. The dark blue are the ADSB derived targets (whether direct , say from the SE2 or indirect, from, say the AvTraffic app.) The local (Southport Qld) 'AvTraffic' app is able to communicate with OzRwys (full version) and display its ADSB targets on the map page. Of course,, this info is sourced from the online ADSB-exchange and so it's not as reliable as the direct air-to-air ADSB info from the SE2. But AvTraffic does have a built-in audio traffic alert system which can be blue-toothed to headsets and even used in conjunction with the SE2. AvTraffic AVTRAFFIC.COM It's interesting to see how the number of aircraft with ADSB-OUT of some kind is on the increase. It seems it's only a matter of time before it'll become mandatory. Some of the screenshots below show ADSB targets (dark blue) fed from the SE2 and some of them show info from AvTraffic. For example I was interested in 'seeing' the traffic at Port Macquarie from Taree (27 NM away). This was only possible using the AvTraffic feed (or switching to another app.) The SE2, of course, has a limited (line-of-sight) range, whereas the ADSB exchange apps are only limited by the number of participating receivers in a given area. Anyway, these pics all happen to have been captured while on the ground. All the altitudes displayed are in hundreds relative to the level of the device/own-ship. CLICK ON PICS FOR FULL REZ

Skippy, if you want to fly above 8,500, say between The Oaks and Cowra, that's already controlled airspace (Class E) right? So you'd need a proper transponder, even if you don't need a clearance. No portable IN/OUT solution is able to provide that (legal) capability. So I'd have thought that getting your installed ES/ADSB transponder working properly would be worth it for that privilege, alone. Given that you really want that altitude, at times. In any case, if your Trig is transmitting as an ES/ADSB you can't have any dongle/SE2 going at the same time (other than for their IN function.)

Yes, Terone Park is top-right in this pic, whereas the ARFF WORLD video had zoomed in to the little green patch at the lower left. Interesting that they'd sourced the Mayday call, though.

Lets Go Aviate has a go at that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2_orSNXGWk

I like Let's Go Aviate's series of video essays. In this one he looks into the history of inline-fours for aeroplanes, finishing up with the recent offerings from Viking, Aeromomentum and Edge.