68volksy
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Everything posted by 68volksy
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Be handy if the RA-Aus numbers could be relied upon. There's been 5 forced landings at Goulburn airport in the past 12 months alone in RA-Aus aircraft and I'm yet to see even 1 of them turn up in an RA-Aus report!
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I personally think that airframe integrity is a very good start to the deciding factors between GA and RA. The only deciding factor i have ever heard so far has been cost so it's about time some of the reasons behind it being cheaper were brought into the discussion! Depreciation is a factor in RA that many are only just starting to realise. From all the sums i've done if you pay someone (L2/LAME) to maintain a J170 and factor in depreciation the costs work out very similar to maintaining a GA aircraft. We did the sums on a J170 and a $30k Piper Cherokee and it was about dead even on a dollars per hour basis and 200 hours use per year. Major difference was that the $80k J170 was not worth $80k after 10 years where the Piper won't have lost a cent.
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Just be aware that there's a lot more to that question than cost. Whilst RA-Aus have done some brilliant marketing over the years there is a lot more to the decision than simply dollars. The maintenance standards of RA-Aus aircraft are probably the most relaxed area. Word is that a flying school recently had its entire fleet of RA-Aus aircraft grounded on inspection by CASA for being unairworthy. They'd been merrily training students in one aircraft with an engine 1,000 hours overdue i'm told. Whilst this could happen in GA it's almost impossible with the checks and strict liability provisions on LAME's. That's just an example of one possible difference. There are a lot of good, honest RA-Aus schools and hire aircraft but the maintenance and training standards between them all is unbelievable once you start looking into things. There's a lot of variation in the GA schools and hire aircraft also of course. It starts at the philosophical level really for me. A GA aircraft was designed to a standard of "how strong does this need to be" whilst modern RA-Aus aircraft are designed to a weight "how heavy can this part be". That's the first starting point when comparing a Jabiru/Tecnam to a 150 for me.
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What Do People Think About The REX Cadetship?
68volksy replied to Wangaratta's topic in Aviation Enthusiasts
Go with Rex. A couple of guys from the Goulburn Aviation flying school went onto Rex and seem to be loving it. Newly qualified CPL's are a dime a dozen nowadays thanks to the VET/FEE flying schools and Uni courses. The school advertises for new instructors every now and then and are always flooded with newly qualified Grade 3's with very low hours. Standing out in that crowd is near impossible. If you go the CPL/MECIR route then be prepared for possibly a very long and hard slog into a regular well-paying job. Unless you can find a charter company that loves you for some reason. Also a consideration is that Rex/Sharp/Qantaslink will simply not look at employing you in the future when they've got their own batch of candidates who've been brought up on their way of doing things from the beginning and are well entrenched in the organisation. Definitely learn as much as you can about the cadetship and the culture of the organisation to get a feel for whether you'll 'fit'. -
Low wing are well known to be more influenced by "ground effect" in the landing. Basically provides a little more cushioning in the flare so this should be the biggest difference you'll really notice that's directly attributable to the different wing (and not just different aircraft). The high wings are generally more effected by crosswinds also as the wind can get caught up under the wing against the body of the aircraft. That's some of what i've picked up over the years anyway.
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From reading it would appear that converting from RA to RPL may not be a simple paperwork thing. The little "Note" at the bottom of the section talks about having to have completed a flight review for the aircraft class prior to getting issued the licence. From talks with CASA people it's something they are going to supply more detail on. Sounds like it will be a normal conversion process of getting up to speed on a GA registered aircraft and then sitting an AFR on that class. On the medical requirement I wouldn't be at all surprised to see RA-Aus adopting very similar requirements to CASA in the near future or CASA reducing their requirements. Allowing two different definitions of "Fit to drive a motor vehicle" I see as a little odd... My thoughts were that the impetus behind it all was keeping the GA guys who couldn't pass their medical flying the aircraft they're used to flying rather than bulking up the membership of RA-Aus. I'm also hoping it'll lead to a bit more investment in Australia in GA 2-seaters like the Diamond DA20. Will certainly see a greater emphasis on the "fully certified" tagline when people are deciding between GA and RA.
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I'm always getting clipped over the ear by instructors for talking too fast. And i'm always first to complain when some amateur numpty blurts out the call so fast i can't understand it! Sitting back and listening though it's a very easy way to sort the "men from the boys". All the young kids (i'll include myself in that bunch :) ) tend towards blurting out their calls in a rushed panic. The more panicked they are the faster the calls! Then you'll hear the 10,000-hour plus instructors and the pilots who've been around for a while talking at such a perfect pace you never miss a single thing they're saying and they seem so calm and relaxed! Personally don't care how people announce their call sign so long as it's done at a pace that's easily understood and in a calm and relaxed manner.
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The Hindenboob!
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It's true I am talking more about the motivations behind bringing the case however I personally see the motivation for bringing a case as a very important part of the case itself. These cases are brought by someone who feels they (or the public) have been wronged by the system. My feeling is if they were to feel supported by the system then they would not bring such a case.
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Absolutely right that the importer is not a defendant. Looking at the bigger picture i'm feeling that the plaintiff is simply looking for someone to do something. There seems to be no legal avenue (thanks to the way the legislation is drafted) to pursue the importer and no-one of authority has been seen to have done anything whatsoever about the actions of the importer or the findings of the coroner. The question in my mind is whether CASA/RA-Aus have willfully endangered the Australian public (or at the very least failed to properly educate them) through the creation of such an environment. If RA-Aus or CASA had sought to sanction (or at least investigate) the importer in some way over all of this then my guess is there would be no case currently being brought against them. The fact they've simply pointed to the "fly at own risk" sticker and walked away has made a lot of people very angry. Either way the fact this case is being brought is necessary for the RA-Aus fraternity in my view. The findings of the case will hopefully outline exactly what risks we are all taking on when we start that engine.
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The other occupant was a pilot and owned his own sting aircraft - not the one that crashed. What I see as the true motivation behind these cases all comes down to the attitude of the aircraft importer during the coroners inquest and the findings of that inquest. Give it a read and you may find the motivation to fight this all the way to the highest court in the country. I personally am very proud that at least one member of our community is not taking these deaths and laying down. What's most curious is that RA-Aus and its members seem to be focusing all their anger towards the party bringing the case. The actions of the importer/manufacturer have been utterly ignored in absolutely every way. In my view it's them that RA-Aus and its members should be truly angry towards for bringing this all about! I'm not aware of even the most basic of sanctions or even audit activity following from the recommendations of the coroner. Those recommendations and the coroners findings are very strongly worded.
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Remember that CASA and the pilot are involved also. At the top level it all seems to boil down to the passenger of the aircraft not being made aware of the risks involved with the aircraft. Basically whether or not the "Fly at own risk" sticker and all associated legislation actually satisfies the responsibilities of CASA/RA-Aus/RA-Aus Pilots to the general public. It's a good case and very interesting in my view. It really highlights the fact that flying and maintaining your own aircraft is one thing but putting someone else in it is another thing entirely. The importer seems simply to have been protected by the "Fly at own risk" portions of the legislation. Another area that could probably do with some amendments...
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The best approach in my opinion is to fly with a few different instructors in the first few hours to get a feel for the one that you prefer. Then up until just after first solo stick with the same instructor if you can. If things aren't working or you're not learning at an appropriate pace a professional instructor will look for assistance from other instructors and maybe get you to do a lesson or two with others in case they're missing something. That's what you pay the instructors good money for. Then after first solo if you have the choice then fly a few hours with one or two highly experienced and mature instructors. They're all individuals and all will teach you to look at things a different way. I did half a dozen lessons with an older guy who had 30,000 hours on light aircraft under his belt. Whenever he touched the controls it really showed me just how nicely it was possible to fly an aircraft. He also had a very kind way of treating the Warrior that I think came from the 20,000-odd hours he had in Warriors and Archers.
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I thought i did the Woodlawn mine flight in the Gazelle but it may have only ever been in the Warrior... Everyone raves about the Victor One flight!
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Not necessarily picturesque (or very far) but I love flying over Woodlawn mine and the wind farm. Currandooley homestead is quite the manor and Lake George still has some water in it too...
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Well the aircraft are certainly looking a little bit like GA aircraft... If we go back to rag and tube and max height of 500 feet i'm sure CASA would be happy to start looking the other way.
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Love the Suunto watches. Got one with altimeter, compass and heaps of other crap. Well-priced too around the $200 bracket. Has a great big face with HUGE numbers on it so it's easy to read.
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Sounds like Goulburn airport before one little girl Gazelle looked at the other little buy Gazelle with a glint in her eye! Welcome PA28. Or should that be P28A?
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My only comment would be that RA is really only cheaper if you own and maintain your own aircraft. If you're not interested in buying your own aircraft and doing your own maintenance then you'll be stuck with hiring anyway. With an RA aircraft hiring can be an absolute minefield due to the massive variation in maintenance standards between all the organisations that hire aircraft. Basically they can write their own rules about most maintenance issues. You've got to consider all these things when making the decision and remember the "it's cheaper" statement comes with a massive caveat. If you can find yourself a nice little two-seat GA aircraft for a cheaper rate you'll be onto a winner in my view. You'll find plenty of 150's or Tomohawks out there for hire for $150 an hour or less. All with current maintenance releases and 40-50 years of proven reliability - something i personally value highly.
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Well the airport fees for one of the local flying school's aircraft at Goulburn is currently up to $3800 for this financial year to date. Really gets my goat when just down the road at Canberra it's a $1200 flat rate... No toilet facilities (new owner locked them so he didn't have to clean them), no terminal building, no drinking water...
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You're never too old!
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It's just my impression but the pilots that have been trained in "crash" courses honestly believe they're the best pilots out there... Anyone who is looking purely at "how many hours to licence" or "how quick can I get my licence" should be treated with extreme caution. They're so blatantly out of touch with the world of aviation that they should probably be sat down and talked through it all over a few cups of tea. Avoid at all costs the schools that promote the "crash" courses in aviation! The only thing they're after is dollars. For me getting a licence is a by-product of simply enjoying flying, aircraft and sharing the passion with others of a similar mind. I have also learnt a great deal whilst right-seating with other pilots during fly-aways, day trips or local flights - an activity that is all too often forgotten at many schools.
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Hi Ivan, That makes sense. Enjoy the Jabirus and best of luck with it all!
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Hi Ivan, Welcome to the forum and glad to hear things are progressing nicely. From your picture it looks like you're flying a Gazelle down at Wollongong? Wasn't aware of anyone training in Gazelle's down that way -thought there were only Jabirus?
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150 hour or 200 hour CPL - Which is better
68volksy replied to Zac Wheeler's topic in Student Pilot & Further Learning
An alright way to build hours for free without a CPL is the good old jump plane pilot. Find a parachuting school with a decent reputation that's using some decent aircraft, hang around for long enough and you'll start building some good hours. Find a drop zone that uses constant speed props and 120-knot plus machines and the log book will start looking quite nice for a future employer. Because low-hour CPL pilots are a dime a dozen nowadays there's a lot to be said for getting to know a potential future employer also. Even if it means sweeping the floors at the local maintenance shop. A local year 12 student here spent some time sweeping floors at a local charter company maintenance shop and got himself some nice right-seat time ferrying Conquests/Titans/Metros to and from the maintenance location. Not sure if it went in the logbook but it shows that the idea can work.
