BirdDog

Hey all, I am looking for a new home for the Bird Dog closer to home and Coota looks the goods. Anyone know of a contact out there? I am preferring hangar space rather than leave her out in the cold. Cheers J

I am with you mate!! There as talk earlier about cabling being pulled etc etc. But like I said, if it's done by someone who knows what they are doing what is the issue? I just had my entire exhaust ripped out of the bird for a full refurb! Why is that OK, but the same guy can't make it easier to see my engine instruments! LOL!

Thanks all. A good discussion. I am still on the fence with "modifications" like this. If it's done by a LAME or someone with the approval, I don't see an issue - But I don't write the regulations. I was out again yesterday and had a Pax. A mate who is a bit larger than me, and I made a note of what problems I faced when wanting accurate readings on the engine instruments, and I will stand by my claim that having to lean over in front of him in flight, surely can't be better than getting the instruments on an angle. I REALLY hate the attitude of "LSA pilots have been using a flat dash for years" as an excuse to sit back and not look for a better way forward. Seriously... Are we that old and stubborn that we can't look at something and improve it. Anyway.... I will put up with my dash the way it is, and fly and be happy, but I still think an angled dash would make for a nicer experience for me in the cockpit. Just my 0.2.

My Bird is online with a school at a club, and as an owner I guess it's my right to allow only who I want flying the bird. That said, I don't really restrict. BUT... I am be happier if the person wanting to fly does a check flight with the CFI, with the school, and all is made sure he or she is capable. I think a lot of clubs would like you to be a member first. I certainly request that our CFI makes the call on if the person is capable or not - Check flight etc etc.

Thanks lads, Shame me for thinking that making my cockpit easier to read might actually make it safer. LOL!

I thought it can be modified, with a approval but would likely result in a rego change??? I have a mate who just ripped his entire dash out and replaced with glass - how does that happen? I might have to ask him I think.

Did your bird come that way, or did you modify??

Ahahahah! That's actually a brilliant idea when you think of it! LOL!

Yep - I am hoping to speak to my LAME in the next couple of days to get his take on that. It really is an oversight by the factory. After you have sat in the pilot's seat of an aircraft that has all the instruments banked toward the pilot, it becomes quite noticeable.

So recently I became the proud owner of an Evektor Sportstar and I am loving it, with one exception. The instruments and gauges on the right side of the cockpit. The really should have been angled back toward the pilot to make them easier to read. To get any accuracy, you have to lean over to the Pax to see the instruments correctly. SO... does anyone have any ideas on how I can rectify this? Maybe retrofit some sort of angled bezels etc? I am open to ideas. Cheers J

I actually think this is the property my brother owned about 20 years ago! The views from the strip are amazing!

Because Neil, if, as you say "when the sheet hits the fan" the lawyers will have a field day. Why is it so hard to ask for decent regulation to be written. As I have asked earlier, what defines the take off point? If you read back through the thread, my aircraft can be between 2 ADs. So how long does it have to be on the ground at AD2 before it becomes, as you call it, "the take off point"? 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week?? How long! See the ambiguity. And as I am now no longer a student, it can't be the "training AD", because I own the aircraft, and I am no longer a student of the club. So, let me ask you this Neil, Example 1 I take off today from AD1 (Where my plane was for the last week) and I land 20nm away at AD2. It stays there for 1 night. The next morning I get up - Where is my 25nm boundary now? Example 2 I take off today from AD1 (Where my plane was for the last week) and I land 20nm away at AD2. It stays there for 5 nights. I go up again - Where is my 25nm boundary now? See my point! Now... it get's even uglier, because there is another AD less than 25nm from AD2. SO... If I decide to leave my plane at AD2 for say a month, I then go to AD3. Then... There is another AD less than 25 from that, so how long does the plane have to stay at AD3? You see what I mean. The regulations don't account for the instance where the pilot does not leave his aircraft at 1AD, and does not account for an AD being within that 25nm. If it clearly stated that landing at another AD was not allowed, we would not be having this discussion. And in case you are wondering, yes I am serious when I say it lives between 2 ADs. They are not they far apart and a bunch of us have planes, so we fly all over the place.

Yeah man, of course they do. I still think 25nm is far enough.

Wow! I go away for a few days, and come back to pages to read! :) Awesome discussion though, and is always good. Fingers crossed Saturday week I will have my XCountry endo. Whoo hoo! A couple of things I will add.... I don't care who you are, the way those regs (and plenty of other CASA regs) have been written - is crap! Pure crap, and can easily be done better. That said, I personally think 25nm is way enough! Where I fly, in less than 20nm in one direction puts me on the other side of hills with absolutely no clear visibility of where the home AD is. Thankfully there is a dirty big ocean on one side that will help with that! :) However, fly at a mates home AD that is less than 1 hour flight away inland, and everything looks the same, with no easy identifier as to where the AD is. So I get the whole argument for Nav. It's the very reason why I am getting mine, and always had the intention to get it. Heck, I did most of my training flying my plane home across the country with my instructor beside me. But what this thread has shown is the regs are still, to this day, poorly written. What that does is (as it has done in my industry) is caused confusion amongst pilots. It causes heated discussions where opinions conflict, and it's not good. Why could it not just be written better like... You must not fly more than 25nm from the airport you took off from. You must return to the the airport you took of from without landing at another airport. SOLVED! But no... The same thing has been happening for years. The regulators write a rule. The lawyers rewrite it. The regulators rewrite it again, and the lawyers have another go, and before you know it, the Chinese Whispers like process means what spits out the other side carries much ambiguity. I am not saying we scrap the 25nm. It's plenty far. Just make sure it's written properly. It's not that hard! Sheesh! But anyways... Like I said... I like a healthy discussion, if it brings awareness to the next pilot that has just gone solo that he must stay 25nm from his AD - Then good! :) Maybe we saved him from getting lost on his next flight. Cheers J

Thanks Turbo. Was talking with my instructor about this today. I tend to agree with your way of thinking, only, where I flew with my instructor really has no bearing on where I can fly. For example... If I get you to fly my plane to somewhere in WA, then I am quite entitled to get myself to that AD, and fly it within 25nm of that AD, having never flown there before. I just find it increasingly interesting how a simple yet fundamental part of our rule set is also still a bit grey. I have been working within Civil Aviation for nearly 12 years, and was hoping RAA might be a little different, but it seems not. What is interesting is, as soon as someone pipes up with a view, many are quick to jump on you - when we are simply just discussing a topic. It seems like it's taboo! Is it that bad to have a discussion, or should I just shut up and tow the line.

Interesting how we think we know the rules. Having dealt with casa regulation for 12 years, nothing surprises me anymore.

Plus... why would the RAA Ops manual even mention consecutive flights. So let's get that straight. Landing is not a problem.

Well no. I have already asked casa re landing at another AD and the answer was as long as 25nm.

No. There is nothing stopping you landing at another AD. As long as it's within 25nm.

Thanks, but it still does not answer my question - My aircraft lives between 2 airfields! What happens in that instance? They are 20nm apart. In fact, I have 4 airfields within 25nm. I am sure there are many other pilots who have 2 strips in close proximity. What would happen in that case? So... without sounding stupid... Let's say my plane is at AD1 today, and I fly it to AD2 where I leave it overnight. Tomorrow I go back and go for a fly. Where is my 25nm boundary now? It's a reasonable question. Oh.. and the regs don't state anything about landing. They just state not more than 25nm from the departing airfield. They don't even mention anything about consecutive flights. Which is no surprise really.

Yep! I am glad that I have done my Nav training. It teaches you a whole lot more than you think. :) Back to the 25nm though... and this is a legitimate question from my PPL buddy. What is the originating AD? My plane is 19nm from another AD, and at times it lives it's life between these 2 ADs. Sometimes it's at one for weeks at a time, and then other times it can live at the other for weeks at a time. So where does my 25nm start and end? I am not being silly, and I don't really care, in 2 weeks I will have my endorsement - but it's a good question right! Today it might be at AD 1, but then tomorrow, I might leave it at AD2.

ahah! I am booked in for my test in 2 weeks. But it's very interesting when you read it!

Oh... And I just looked up the RPL data on the CASA site and it states... flying no more than 25nm from the aerodrome where the flight began, the designated training area, or a direct route between the two Interesting!

Now, I know this has been done to death, but this has myself and a mate puzzled, and it goes like this.... So my buddy (PPL Holder) asks how my flying is going etc etc, and we got to discussing 25nm restriction without X-Country and he says... "Hmm can you land 20nm away and then go another 20nm?" I say no, and him being like he is says... "Let's look it up!" So we jump on the RAA website and check out the ops manual and we find the following; CROSS COUNTRY ENDORSEMENT (X) In order to act as pilot in command of a recreational aeroplane at a distance greater than 25 nautical miles from the original point of departure a Pilot Certificate holder must hold a RAAus Cross Country (X) Endorsement. Note: Consecutive flights of 25 nautical miles do not comply with this requirement. Now, this got us into a heavy discussion, and as neither of us are legal experts, we called another buddy who is... sent him that clause and asked for what he thought it meant. Here's what he said... "You need to break it down, so lets do that.... That clause says to me that in order to travel greater than 25nm, you are required to hold a Cross Country Endorsement. Then the note says.... Consecutive flights of 25nm don't comply with this requirement, and therefor don't need the cross country endorsement. If what you are asking is, can you fly multiple legs to travel 50nm, my interpretation is yes" That left my original buddy gloating... so I am putting out there to you guys for comment. I was trained, and always had the understanding that you can't hop. BUT.... As my buddy said... "If you land 20nm away, how long do you have to stay there for before it becomes the original point of departure?" He has a point!! Let's discuss! Cheers J

Yep. Thanks. I already have that in motion. A few of us in here should do the same. :)