Neil_S

I used to work for British Airways at Heathrow for about 10 years, and no matter what else was going on, or how many times you had seen it, when Concorde took off everyone just stopped what they were doing and watched. An awesome sight, and sadly missed. I was fortunate enough to fly from Heathrow to New York on it one time. Brilliant. Neil

G'day! Welcome to the site! Cheers Neil

Haha - reminds me of the brilliant account in Ernest Gann's superb "Fate is the Hunter" where he describes the load of steel radio towers that they are carrying (but had not tied down) slipping down to the back of the plane at takeoff, and his companion's struggle to move them back forward to avert a tail-heavy disaster! Cheers Neil

Hi Kaz, I believe Mangalore & Locksley Field are 121.1, not 119.1, but I totally agree with your point. I frequently fly that route when going from Penfield to Wangaratta exactly because it has a lot of small airfields in case the fan should stop, or some other reason where I would need to land quickly, but it does not seem to be a logical setup. I actually switch to 126.7 when past Locksley Field and therefore 5 miles from Longwood, and stay on it for Euroa and Violet Town. Then I switch to Area Frequency until 10 miles from Benalla when I switch to 122.5, but Earlston airfield is shown on the VNC within 10nm of Benalla, but with no CTAF frequency. So this should really be 126.7 too. So I flip to Area Frequency and listen, but then flip back to 126.7 when close to these small airfields. CAAP 166-1(2) has the following definition for "In the vicinity" : An aircraft is in the vicinity of a non-controlled aerodrome if it is within: a) airspace other than controlled airspace; and b) a horizontal distance of 10 NM from the aerodrome (reference point); and c) a height above the aerodrome (reference point) that could result in conflict with operations at the aerodrome. The elevation of the land along that stretch is about 600 or 700 ft, so those airfields would have circuit heights (for small piston aircraft) of 1600 or 1700 ft, and the minimum overfly height would normally be about 1000 above that, ie 2600 or 2700. However, I am usually at quadrantal 3500 or 5500 heading East, so the question remains if I am at 3500 or more whether I am deemed to be at a height "that could result in conflict with operations at the aerodrome" and therefore should just stay on Area Frequency? I know Euroa does parachute drops, so they must operate a lot higher than 2700 ft....... Perhaps we should be requesting a better definition of a height "that could result in conflict with operations at the aerodrome", and if you are within the cylinder of 10nm radius and this defined height (let's say 1000 ft above circuit height, or 2000ft above the airfield elevation) then broadcast/listen on 126.7, but when you transit out of, or are about to go into, this cylinder a broadcast on Area Frequency with your position and intentions. It is not perfect, but perhaps a little clearer than the current documentation...... Cheers, Neil

Agreed. It is bad that AIP & CAAP contradict each other. I would have thought the following should apply. 1. If the airfield/ALA is neither in ERSA nor on the charts (VTC/VNC etc) then broadcasting on 126.7 will be a waste of time as people flying in the area will probably have no clue it even exists and will not be listening on 126.7, but rather on the area frequency. So broadcast on the area frequency, giving a very brief description of its location. 2. If the airfield/ALA is marked on the charts, but has no CTAF and is not in ERSA, then when in the vicinity listen on 126.7 and broadcast on 126.7. Cheers Neil

I thought the days of Kamikaze were over a long time ago.....

It seems that some people have yet to read "Stick and Rudder" by Wolfgang Langewiesche. He states time and again that it is the stick position that is crucial in stalling (or rather in NOT stalling). I was taught the sideslip in my RAAus training as it is indeed part of the syllabus. This was in a low wing plane. Although you have crossed controls the stick should be forward, or neutral. As I now fly a plane with no flaps it is part of the toolbox for me, especially when practicing forced landings. It is better to have a bit too much height when approaching the paddock you have selected, and then slipping off the extra height when certain to get in rather than the other way round, ie find yourself too low and unable to make it. As stated by some of the others on this thread, if you were not taught this as part of your initial training then I would suggest getting some training on this very useful manoeuvre with an instructor at a safe height. My 2c. Rgds Neil

Very interesting documentary. Once again a combination of issues - the wear caused by friction AND the strain caused by jet blast. Thought-provoking stuff. Thanks for posting, Garfly. Cheers Neil

Being a member of the Friends of the RAAF Museum I certainly am.... Cheers Neil

G'day, David & Hope all goes well with the cross-country endo. I have been up to Caboolture & Watts Bridge a few times (to look at the TAVAS WW1 replicas) - met lots of friendly aviators there. Cheers Neil

Der Grossvater?

Hi JG, Really cool - thanks for posting! Neil

Hi Jeff, I assume you have looked at the Brumby info on the Aircraft section of this site? If not then that would be a good starting place. Also you could contact a couple of guys on here who have flown or own Brumbys - Andrew1975, and Stevron. There may be others too - just do a forum search with the keyword Brumby. BTW there was an article about the Brumby factory at the end of the current Australian Flying magazine which may be worth a read. They sound like a nice aircraft, well built, and locally made, so I hope you may choose to buy one and support local industry! HTH Cheers Neil

Now that's virgin on the ridiculous.....

Welcome, Bill! You sure did find a good site! Cheers, Neil

Well done, Chris. You can only ever have one first solo! I still remember being surprised at the different flying characteristics without an instructor in the plane - reaching circuit height a lot quicker. I also forgot to lower flaps to 30 on final, and landed with them at 15, which my eagle-eyed instructor spotted from the ground (solution - buy a Gazelle as it has no flaps ) Keep us posted with your progress! Cheers, Neil

Excellent video.....but how did the cameraman who filmed the landing get there?

Yup - we got our last lot from Peter MacLean at Yarrawonga.....

Hi, Best check with Floods for the best method, I would think..... Cheers Neil

Great videos - very enjoyable.... Neil

AVPlan on an iPad Mini on a kneeboard works for me. No problems seeing the display in the Gazelle cockpit....

Hi Roscoe & ! Tell us a bit about yourself, eg where do you fly from? How long have you been flying etc Sorry - can't help wrt the Jabiru as I have no experience of Jabs.... Cheers, Neil

Hi Ralph, Welcome to the site, and Happy New Year to you! Please tell us some more about your flying - eg where you fly from etc, and I would like to see a picture of that ultralight beaver (hhhmmm - it's good this is not a dodgy website, or that might sound rather bad....) Cheers Neil

Hi Bruce, As you imply - dropping weird names like this into the conversation is an opportunity to maintain/reinforce an air of mystique for pilots! All too often in this age of high tech gizmos it is the youngsters who drop weird acronyms into the conversation to confuse us oldies - these names are a rare opportunity for us to get our own back! Cheers Neil

Cool video. Thanks. Interesting to see the wingtip vortices at the end.....