Jerry_Atrick

HI @SQUWAK 3886, Belated welcome to the forum. I had a hiatus when I left Aus, and got back into it; it is great fun. Between Moorabbin and Coldstream? Whereabouts do you live? I learned to fly at RVAC, between Moorabbin and Coldstream when they took it over (yeah - I am old). But, as my instructor incorporated aeros into my PPL, we cross-hired Peter Bini's Super Decatholon for the inverted fuel system and it came with a constant speed prop making loops a breeze. Peter Bini then was a great school, and if I didn't have such a great instructor (thanks, Dick) and wanted a proper club, Bini's would have been my choice. Have you decided on a school/location, yet? If not, here's my not si humble opinion (to be taken with less than a pinch of salf, since I haven't flowin in Aus for almost 30 years). It is assuming GA flying rather than RAAus flying: Moorabbin: Where I lived, it was closer and sort of easier. But, it will depend where you live. Thee is virtually no such thing as a cross-wind with the runaways available. You get experience at controlled airports, if not controlled airpsace, as well as learning very quickly how to deal wioth sense traffic, slotting in, and the like. You've settled on a school there, but I would suggest still joinging what I think is the oldest continual aeroclub in the world, the RVAC.. the social scene is (or was) excellent. Is it Kingswood part that is just outside the airport on the other side of (lower/central) Dandenong Road, and a BBQ after a summer's flight is lovely. Of course, it has long runways (is 18/35 1800m?). And of course, you will meet a lot of people and the opportunities for all sorts of different flying is fantastic. The down sides? Not too many, but you are spoilt, so when you need to really do short fields onto rough airstrips, it will be a learning experience, especially on gravel (which is what Coldstream used to be). And of course, you can be held up in the run upas and waiting to enter the runway, burining $ not doing too much. The training area (is that still a thing?) is only about 750 sq kms. But, my favourite memory of flying at Moorabbin was, after a tough day at work in summer, taking off into a sunny evening and doing aeros with Port Philip Bay on one side, and Western Port on the other while I was throwing the plane about. Coldstream: Well, RVAC vacated it years ago (actually,I used to volunteer at the desk when RVAC took it over). Obvviously, you're rarely going to be holding for a run-up or runway. 750sq kms of a training area at Moorabbon sounds a lot, but try over 2,200sq kms over the beautiful Yarra Valley (and you can even fly over my mum's house). You are going to spend more time in the air - no doubt. The shorter runway are no issue for the Warriors I was flying at the time, and you are going to learn how to handle cross-winds and short field take offs and landings. You'll be making blind calls and developing a keen sense of how to spot other aircraft in a sparesly trafficked area; all of which is more common for the private pilot than the likes of Moorabbin. When I was on the desk at Coldstream, there was initially a little bad blood with those who were part of the previous school/club, but they got over it very quickly, and it was a close knit flying community and very welcoming. So, while the RVAC was a great club, there was some clique which wasn't at Coldstream. While it's relatively rare the wind will stop you taking off and landing at Moorabbin, it is far more common with one shorter runway. Between Steele Mountain (?) and the hills on the other side, fog and low cloud will ground you more than in Moorabbin, except in the evenings, where Moorabbin can be susceptible to onshore mosit winds that generate a bit of fog. That's usually only a problem for nigth VFR flight. And, of course, if you are going to be doing any instrument flying, forget Coldstream. And of course, of you get yourself a plane, parking is going to be a lot cheaper (hangar space is almost impossible). I believe the runway has been upgraded and lengthened since I was at Coldstream, but I would have said gravel is not bad to learn on.. Best of luck whichever way you go.

This is a mem I wouldn't mind: OK - not silly or funny, but, I am scraping the barrel.

OK, my shareoplanes have been in the UK, but here are my observations: @sfGnome's post is spot on. You want easy goign members not afraid to spend when it is needed. However, many tight-posteriors go for syndicates to get cheap flying, so beware. Having said that, one of my cardinal requirements is there can't have been a cash call for routine maintenance. One of the benefits of a syndicate is that you put enough in your monthly sub and hourly rate to cover most routine maintenance. The only exception is my TB20 syndicate, where the costs are clearly not designed to do that and the Shareholder's agreement explicitly states so. Your syndicate is only as good as its crappiest member, and I would prefer the crappiest member to be me. To be honest, the syndicates I have been members of have been normally pretty good, and yes, I have been the TB20 Syndicate's crappiest member (though I became a member because the ejected a member for doign a gear-up landing). Every other syndicate member is miles more experienced than me.. there is a PPL - yes PPL, with out 10,000 hours... On the hourly rate of the TB20, that is 1.25 million he has spent flying (in todayy's money) over the journey. Nuts. But, in a PA28 group I was in, we let some fellow in, who wasn't too dangerous, but a pain. Overtightened the dipstick, left theplane grotty, and after we spent £17K on a respray, dinged one of the wings. I left that syndicate not long after he joined, but he was ejected from the syndicate. This wil depend on your personality, but I prefer syndicates that are flexible. As soon as I hear you can only have the aircraft at most 5 days in the month, and that you have to seek permission to sell your share and that the group sets the sale price, I walk away,. Some people prefer the regimented life, but not me. And I don't care if there is no formal written share agreement; you find that most flexible syndicates are like that because the members are usually flexible themselves and accomodating; the ones with strict rules tend to have a cowboy or two so need those rules. I hgave found there should be a separate admin/CEO type, and maintenance leader. I was in a syndicate where there was one leader who looked after everything and the plane ended up more grounded than not. One of the great things about syndicates is that there is usually someone who loves the admin, someone who loves the maintenance, but they accept other members joining in on that stuff if they want to. I love these syndicates, because, to be frank, I can't be posteriored with all of that; I want to take the covers off, check the papeerwork, and just go flying. Finally, and thius is probablky more for the UK than Aus, because the UK does not have the club scene to anywhere near the same extent as Aus; find a syndicate where you get on with most of the pilots. One thing I found out about myself when I got my license and went flying further afield, is that I prefer it in the company of others; and better still, especially when that another is a member I get on well with. I did London --> Le Touquet --> Luxembourgh --> Cologne --> Cherbourg --> London in a day, it is nice to have another pilot to do the alternating legs, especially one that you get on with. Have done a few longer tours with other members. So, make sure you get on with a few of the members. Optimal number of members? Its going to depend on you. Of course, the more members, in theory, less availability. But don't believe that. All syndicates I have been in have been 8 members.. And all of them had at least two that rarely, if ever, flew. I can count the times with my fingers in over 10 years of syndicate ownership the aircraft wasn't available when I needed it. And of course, if you're in a syndicate that is flexible and reaosnable, you can email the pilot who has booked it when you really need it, and ask if it is OK to swap. Although I haven't written the email, I have received two, and yeah, it was no problem. If your mission requires more than one type of aircraft, then Syndicates can be a great way of getting access to different typles of planes for the priceof one. There is a bloke in the TB20 syndicate that has a share in a twin and a Pitts, I think.. There are pitfalls - mainly around having cowboys/cowgirls in the group, and I would recommend meeting any new prosepct rather than leaving it to the head honcho. I can't speak for Aussie aviation law, but in the UK, syndicates are far more prevalent than Aus (at least when I left in the mid 90s), and they tend to be either private companies, or trusts. If you have a provate company, there may be GST implications.

Hey, this is like Hotel California - you can check outm, but you can never leave 😉 Stay and participate with the forums - they are more light sports than PPL, but you learn a hell of a lot, as I have (I am based int he UK, although an Aussie). And the forumites are friendly..

The internet is a wonderful thing these days. Rio aviation at Terlingua airport may do something for you, but I think you may want to take a wander (or mosey) to Lajitas (I am guessing pronounced La-Hitas) as theere may be an FBO there that can help. A private pilot is just that - someone who can fly privately - not commercially.. Consider us PPLs, amateurs - in my case, a rank amateur...

Hey Drexus, This is predominantly an Aussie flying forum, but a few international memebers are abouts. Where abouts in West Texas are you from? I haven't been there for years, but there are a couple of things you want to think about first: You may want to read the FAR (Federal Aviation Regulations). They will give you an idea of the rules of aviation. Although, paying a private pilot for a flight can only be done under a cost sharing arrangement (https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-285). So you will have to find a PPL who will want to share the cost with you, or you may be risking his or her licence and they may not be very comfortable with it. I am guessing the request is not to fly you to your flying lessons (El Paso has some great schools - I flew there about 28 years ago). My advice would be to get your PPL ASAP and fly yourself (of course, when you have got enough hours and experience post PPL, and when the weather permits). You can go to a flying school and they may have an AOC (when I flew there, the schools had to have an AOC, but they may no longer be requied to). Note, I flew as a PPL; nothing commerical. They may fly you but it will be commercial rates; but at the end of the day, the US commercial rates are usually not bad compared to many other countries. But of all things, remember, a licence is a licence to learn - you start with a full bucket of luck and empty bucket of experience, and hope the experiencce bucket fills before the luck bucket runs out. If you want to try and track someone down to see if they will cost share, getting to a local club or school may yield results - depends on the school, club, or FBO (note, if some agrees and theyt aren't instrument rated, you will be at the mercy of good weather, and even if they are, your risks in a single pilot IFR, single engine private flight in inclement weather increases sginificantly). I would recommend watcing some of Pilot Debrief's vids on youtube - this bloke is an ex USAF safety investigator and you want to go into such an arrangement with your eyes wide open: https://www.youtube.com/@pilot-debrief/videos (BTW, fellow forumites, his last video is the missionary aviator who used to post clips on these forums.. interesting stuff). Best of luck with your flying. You are in one of the best countries for PPL flying. You have a plethora of airspace and airfields and, as my US aviation medical examiner said, "where else in the world does the taxpayer willingly subsidise what we love doing?" The FAA, like every regulator has its foibles, but what other regulator publishes and provides for free, the theory required for virtually all of its licences (not sure about the ATPL, though). Here is the PPL theory: https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak

Although i had moved down, still at Fairoaks with my Warrior shareoplane I think it took part with another member flying it

This popped up on my Youtube feed. Dunkeswell is my home and local airfield; Exeter is about 20m to the west. Exeter is an international airport (though not too big), and is home to TUI airlines UK ops (they are German, I think). There is a Robin group out in Exeter, and a decent chunk of GA and LAA (RAAus equivalent) aircraft at Exeter. Dunkeswell is home to Somerset Microlights, where they have a few C42s. I though Warriors were slow until I was waiting for a C42 to get enough upwind to depart... Anyway, enjoy some of the SW English countryside. A little bit of history - Dunkeswell as one of two WWII aerodromes close by (Upottery, no closed, was the other). USAF B17s were based at Dunks in WWII.

The Mach Loop is a military low-level training route that traverses northern Wales and the Lake District of England. If you search it on you tube, you will see great vids of anorak plane spotters (I went to a Nroth Wales popular vantage point once, but all we got were a couple of egg-beaters that day). Here is a vid from the cockpit of a Eurofighter. Thought I would post it as it it pretty good birds-eye view: Hope you enjoy it.

Blimey! It has been years since I have been to a RIAT... and still is one of the best airshows I have seen. My daughter was born in late July so I always had to go to parties my partner mysteriously schedule on RIAT weekend.

Yep.. And there are excellent add ons to FS2020 as well as XPlane 11.... Everything looked too smooth in the flowing scenes and too jumpy in the cluttered scenes.

Looks like something out of a flight sim

One hopes this is inaccurate... Otherwise it is an admission that the company hd no idea, and no control over its finances. After all, the lease contract will not normally allow a reposession unless a) the company is in default, or sometimes, it it is deemed a risky lease, the lessor has a rasonable belief that the lessee will default imminently, or c) not maintaining covenants such as a minimum share price, or maintenance or something similar. It would be alarming if the directors of the company were not expecting reposession proceedings were being initiated, as the directors would normally be informed of such proceedigs. and the reason why.

I follow this Youtuber because he posts vids of accidents (usually fatal) with cool as a cumber analysis of what went wrong. In this vid, you will see reference to a few of them, and to be honest, even though there are patterns, there is always something I learn from others mishaps. But this vid is about how to do it.. and it is great to see. One of my fave aircraft is the PA28 (Yeah.. I know.. many LSAs will run rings around performance - except for load-carrying, of course).. It is just nice to see a good outcome when things don't quite go so right aviation vid for a change.

Isn't there a saying that in flying, you start with a bucket full of luck and an empty bucket of experience - and you hope the bucket of experience fills before the bucketof luck empties... Sadly, one seems to have emptied before enough of the other filled.. A tragic loss. In my early solo days, I recall looking outside and thinking. "Jeez.. this 150s is slow today... Then I looked at the airspeed indicator. A little more time before comprehending the speed outside and I suspect I would not be here today. RIP to the pilot, and condolences to the family and friends; and thoughts with the instructor...

I would say that is a misfiring engine

Yeah, but not sure the tape is up to aviation grade. Cardboard looks good, though.

What the article doesn't mention is the number of movements Western Sydney is forecast to have, so it makes it difficult to assess the need for Class D. I operate out of two London-ish airfields - Fairoaks (located in the Heathrow zone) and Blackbushe (located in Farnborough's Class D airspace. We have Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stanstead, London City that are all busy CAT airports, as well as Southend ramping up. We also have Biggin Hill and Farnborough as fairly busy bizjet airports. There are airfields in the zone (Redhill, Denham, Fairoaks), and some just outside it (High Wycombe, Blackbushe, Elstree, White Waltham (which is half in the Heathrow zone), Stapleford Noth Weald, and i am sure I am missing one or two. Until Farnborough got their airspace grab of Class D (which most guess involved brown paper bags), there was lots of class G under 2,500'. But there were notable choke points for people trying to stay out of Class D, and there are now more. This may be something to look out for Whenever I fly, there is a Class D transit and even Class D bimbling. Never had to lodge a flight plan (the only time I do is when flying to the continent). In class D, we are told the route we have to take and we take it. I guess our longer radio calls though, form some sort of flight plan. I like flying in Class D.. It is not as restrictive as most think; yet you are always under a flight following.. And ATC are working to stop you bumping into someone else.

Is the airfield liable for the cables? The two airfields I have had parking at provided the tiedown points/blocks, but it was up toi us to provide the cables..

I did.. I broke my ankle in a motorcycle accident and as soon as I was out of hosptial, I fired an email off to my AME, who handled to comms to both CAA and CASA. Once I was ready, I had to undergo a minor medical to ensure all was OK.. Doc didn't charge me, but from memory, CASA wanted some money to process the information, so as I wasn't planning any trips to Aus until after the medical renewal was due anyway, I left it until then.. If they didn't want money, there was some administrative hassle that didn't make it worth it.. It was a while ago.

Doe having a medical absolve you of responsibility if you are incapacitated at the contrrols and cause an accident? It doesn't here which is why we carry 3rd party insurance. What about if you flew with a known ailment at the time? I would say the Daylesford driver would be in hot water even if he had a medical for driving: Daylesford driver ignored nine blood sugar warnings before crash killed five, court hears WWW.THEAGE.COM.AU The minutes before the Daylesford hotel tragedy have been detailed for the first time, as police opposed bail for the 66-year-old driver.

Biased? SD may well be biased, but is his synopsis biased with the information at hand? Or does Australia have that many more criminally minded nutters per capita than the USA, for example? Or could it be that the pollies/bureaucrats can't be bothered doing their jobs properly so implement a CYA regime? Biases have a tendency to gather pace when there is a lack of information. And that information does not have to go into specifics. Don't think the pollies/bureaucrats shirk their responsibilities? Ask undercover AFP officers if the latest news is to be believed.

Judging by two elderly US presidential candidates, cognitive ability does generally decline as one its into the older yers. So, as an absolute, I don't think it I ageist per se. However, as I have suggested on the other forums, I think, like the aviation sector, drivers should be tested periodically. OME pointed out the logistics of the number of drivers divided by the number of examiner would be difficult to achieve. But this could mean, like CAA (and I presume CASA) class 2 medicals, at younger years the testing is further apart (4 years) and as one ages, it drops to 2 years and for me, now yearly, with an ECG every year (under 50 and its an ECG every two years). Maybe the test should be for cognitive ability in the same way he have period medicals for flying. but in GA world, are Australian pilots still subject to the BFR? Over here it is 12 hours of flying in the last 12 months and 1 hour instruction (they can't fail you - just recommend additional training) within 90 days of your 2 year anniversary. At least that's what it was in EASA.. not sure if the UK has since Reverte to BFRs... I am getting back into flying after a 3 year break or thereabouts, so I have to do a renewal. I dressed.. for cars, maybe up until 50 or 60; once every 10 years, then from 50 to 70 once every 5.. Would be driven by the medical stats of the population of drivers.. there will those In their 90s that have full faculties and good cognitive abilities, but I would imagine that is not the norm. Loss of cognitive ability, I would guess is also not linear. So, I would think a driving test over 85 once and nothing is pretty useless except for that point in time. FWIW, I think the road law, fairly easy to test online should be done every so often. Today, a newspaper ran a quiz to see hoe much we retained of the road rules... I last did my road rules here in about 2008; I got 3 out of 15. Thankfully my daughter has the latest books as she is getting her provisional licence (L's), so I will be reading up to see what else has changed.