Bennyboy320

Landed at Roma back in 2017, had my ASIC displayed hanging around my neck on a lanyard, the ARO came over as my wife & I were putting covers & tie downs on our aircraft, introduced himself wanted to have a closer look at my card to see if still valid, took a photo of it for his records then had a pleasant chat & was very polite & helpful, I got the vibe that if it was out of date it would not of been a very enjoyable afternoon.

I have to disagree with that statement, everyone in the military knows that their time on the cockpit won’t last forever & the natural progression to keep flying until 65 is joining the airlines, It’s a different type of flying & you adapt, I was privileged to have been an airline pilot for 26 years of which 22 years were overseas, loved every minute of it until I voluntary took early retirement in the COVID days. Most of my squadron friends have either just retired or in their last few years, all ex classic hornet pilots.

Yes, flying IMC if you’re not qualified and in an aircraft not certified you’re already dead, you just don’t know it.

This allows us in the Brisbane area to avoid tiger country when traveling north giving you the option of a coastal transit through Sunshine Coast airspace & when traveling south a coastal or western VFR transit route through Gold Coast airspace. I’m hoping that RAAUS will automatically transfer PPL or above licenced pilots that fly RAAUS with the CTA qualification on our certificate.

Just crunched the numbers for the load sheet & weight & balance, you can definitely go flying in a Foxbat A22LS with a pilot weight of 85kg no baggage & half tank of fuel, cockpit actually wider than a C172, took my mate who’s a QF captain weighing 120kg sometime ago, no shoulder contact. Good luck 🍀 Keep the dream alive.

As a retired airline examiner & instrument rating examiner with over 18,000 hours I still can’t understand why this has to come up every few months, simple airmanship & a sense of self preservation should keep you on the ground during marginal VMC conditions or a diversion if airborne. This is my instrument panel which I deliberately chose when purchasing my Foxbat, not an attitude indicator insight. Continued flight in marginal conditions equates to a DEAD MAN WALKING.

The before start check list gets you to confirm all doors closed before pushback, some airlines arm the slides before starting the push others arm the slides during the push. You definitely get a warning, have attached a few pics of ecam plus oxy/door page on the A320.

This is how ALL airlines treat abnormal smell in the flight deck or cabin, the ECAM/ECAS/QRH will take you the the smoke & fumes procedure, taking you through to all the systems to troubleshoot & identify the source, if you can’t identify it you continue to source unknown, END RESULT LAND ASAP/DIVERT.

As a retired airline examiner (check captain) I fully support the crew’s decision to declare a MAYDAY in response to smoke & fumes, this event is one of the most complicated & frightening events an airline will face. From both a safety & procedural standpoint, it was the correct course of action. Situations involving potential fire or toxic fumes demand immediate & decisive action, the crew’s response ( including the cabin crew) reflects sound judgment & adherence to training.

The pilot declared a MAYDAY X 3 over Orange, then as he returned to SYD at every frequency change you prefix your call sign with MAYDAY so that everyone is aware of your situation, the R/T you’re referring too was on first contact with tower as he becomes established on the ILS R/W 34L, as seen on the TV news, his R/T is correct.

My wife & I flew into Ingelara about a 20 min drive from Carnarvon Gorge resort back in SEP17, stayed in resort & organized pickup & drop off from strip, the pilot touring guide gives you contact details of strip operator, from memory we paid a $50 donation to the RFDS as part of the landing fee, cattle maybe on strip so a condition/status report important. Definitely worth a visit.

The CASA class 5 is a legal medical, I’d put in a formal complaint with CASA against that school, it’s discrimination & illegal.

Great turnout today for the Clifton fly in breakfast, thanks to Trevor & the Clifton team.

Looks very likely that the pilot not flying (PNF) retracts the flaps instead of raising the landing gear.

I’m using my iPad Air with a magnet kneeboard & strap, been using it now for about a year, very happy with the setup. My ride is a Foxbat with a centre stick so there’s no obstruction.