RossK

Yes, happy anniversary Spacey, 🤵👰

Bankstown is closer to Kingsford Smith than it is to Badgerys Creek. The Oaks is 25km away from Badgerys Creek, so hopefully far enough. Riddell, Penfield and Melton are all about that to Tullamarine. The lowering of class C may be an issue for The Oaks though. likely to come down to 2500 - which would be more of a problem for Camdens training area.

Drink it, we bought a $15 bottle for our 15th anniversary and cellared it until our 30th. Was valued at $120 when we drank it. It was smooth and full of flavour

AOPA/Ben Morgan does a lot of good for pilots and aviation in general, but he seems to have RAAus in his sights and take any opprotunity to have a go at them. It does seem he's cherry picked that report. Maybe CASA and RAA should have done a bit more work before going heavy on Bristell, but there does seem to be some valid concerns. I'm curious whether the Relationship between AOPA and RAA was better before RAA registered the "Freedom to Fly" slogan. That was a bad move on their part. Or has there been angst between them for some time.

What schools are you guys going to? we did; Full flap power off stalls full flap power on stalls clean stalls power on clean stalls power off power on climbing stalls power on climbing turn stalls simulated wing drop in stalls - ie if the plane wouldn't do it, the instructor made it do it. basically any airframe set up and then stall it - some of those are not pleasant experiences. I"m not scared of stalling, but still very mindful of airspeed and attitude when doing turns in the circuit.

You mean this one Foxbat A32 Might be able to negotiate a better price 😬

Phillip Island closed because it was bought by a developer but his plans were blocked by the council. He stopped maintaining it out of spite and now the strip is closed. Fling wings only now. I believe his plans are to basically wait until the council gives in.

Not actually a walkout according to PAC, the council have withdrawn! Extracts from the lastest Tyabb Flyer; "At the VCAT Direction Hearing today (19/3/21) the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council (MPSC) has taken the extraordinary step of withdrawing its enforcement application against Peninsula Aero Club (PAC)." It's not over, PAC hitting back; "This latest action suggests the Shire recognised it had little to no chance of success in winning the enforcement, which raises concerns about whether this could be considered a misuse of legal process in order to force the airport operators into capitulation. PAC said they will be making an application for costs, which will be substantial, and may lead the way for others to seek damages for loss of income, reputation and other losses. Unfortunately, these potential costs will all be paid by the ratepayers of the Mornington Peninsula."

Whilst it's better, it's still garbage compared to what we have. I typically cruise at 5500 - 7500 depending on bumps and direction i'm heading. being stuck at 4500 would have made some of my recent trips very uncomfortable. How do we convey to ASA that this is still not acceptable.

How do I unfollow a thread 😒

100 internet points to OME

I agree with Yenn, this is like a property developer putting in an application to build a 20 storey apartment block and finally settling for 12 storeys, when they really only wanted 10. Happens a lot and locals are relieved that it's only 12, not the 20 as initially planned.

It's a shared ownership, the other owner has just done his x-country endo in it. Mission for both of us it to get away regularly and see more of this great country of ours, so it'll likely do 10hrs a month.

Haven't had it that long yet, planes done 41hrs since acquisition in Nov 20. Calendar time is 12 months, +/- 2months, so can go out to 14 months.

Our Maintenance Manual says 100hrs +/- 5hrs, but if you do it at 102hrs, the next is due in 98hrs

Hi Mike, great to hear of your progress on both the flying and the strip. We were just around the corner when we saw a plane take off from what must be your place the other week. I was wondering where the airstrip was, as it's not showing up on google maps yet. We sail out of Rhyll (my other hobby) so visiting French Island is always nice. Ross

Maybe we should be pushing for the same standards as the US, if that's considered the standard they want to meet. So, Class E down to 1500 AMSL, but remove the requirement for transponders and radios in Class E as they do in the US. This would actually open up more airspace to RAA aircraft, like the proposed Class E over Coffs Harbour, the lane of Class E over Avalon etc.

Agree, AU$23k not including shipping.

LSA rules are clear, if factory no longer supports the aircraft, bankruptcy etc, then it must go to E reg.

Have done so already. 👍 It doesn't really affect me, as we have a mode A/C transponder, but 1500AGL is just a dumb idea.

Who came up with the 1500AGL idea. So dumb on so many fronts. Over a lot of the East Coast terrain, there is no way your climb and decent rates could match the terrain, Tracking that height, how do you do that accurately? From a map, not likely, so you need a GPS with terrain overlay with integrated altimeter. Transiting airfields at circuit arrival height, what could possibly go wrong. 😧 1500AGL gives 90 seconds give or take, if the engine stops. Which depending on your best glide gives you 3km of range, give or take. Not a lot of time or area to pick a spot. Why not pick an achievable figure, say 5000ft AMSL I assume they know that 1500AGL isn't achievable and it's their way of making everyone get a transponder or EC device so they can fly in Class E, but they can claim that they have still left some Class G for those that don't have them, even though that Class G is mostly unworkable.

Ours has had an Aspen EFD1000 fitted, which gives both AH and DG, plus a few other functions. Fits in the Round hole where the Steam AH was.

SLSAs are a different category, SLSA homebuilts don't have to be 51% owner built according to my reading of the SLSA regulations. So a homebuilt RV-12 built to the factory build plans would get its Certificate of Airworthiness under the SLSA provisions, and therefore need to be maintained as per Vans RV manual. If you deviate from the plans it would be Experimental SLSA. That's how I understand it, but I could be wrong, it has happened before 😁

RAA has an LSA Synopsis here https://members.raa.asn.au/storage/lsa-synopsis.pdf extract from that; "The Special Certificate of Airworthiness for LSA is for production ready-to-fly aircraft. These aircraft may be used for hire, flying training and towing gliders. The Special Certificate of Airworthiness remains valid provided the aircraft is maintained in accordance with the requirements of the manufacturer and the aircraft has not been modified unless approved by the manufacturer. However, if the aircraft is not maintained in accordance with the manufacturer, or the manufacturer can no longer provide the continuing airworthiness, or the aircraft is modified without the manufacturer’s approval, the Special Certificate of Airworthiness will no longer be in force and the owner will need to apply for an Experimental Certificate to operate the aircraft" Evektor Manual says motor to be maintained in accordance with the Rotax Maintenance manual. Rotax maintenance manual lists TBO as 2000hrs or 15 years. Doesn't say anything about running on condition, so doesn't allow or specifically disallow, depends on your interpretation. EDIT: from the Rotax Maintenance Manual; "GENERAL OVERHAUL (TBO) Definition The time between overhauls (TBO) for all objects (such as the engine, component assemblies, add-on components) is the approved length of operation under normal operating conditions before it becomes mandatory to send in these objects for an overhaul. Normal operating conditions are the conditions which comply with the manufacturer's and the aviation authority’s recommendations for the certification of airworthiness." They've used that word, mandatory, so to comply with the Special Certificate of Airworthiness for LSA, it is mandatory to overhaul the motor at TBO.

To answer the original question; if it were me and I had the money to burn, I'd pick 4a or 4b. Keep the Sportstar and run on condtion, the deciding factor between 4a or 4b is whether RAA allow you to run on condition for factory built LSA and the cost of the Evektor Glass panel approval.