Jeff Gordon Posted July 26, 2011 Posted July 26, 2011 Dear Rec Flyers. I have spent the last 12 months firstly getting my RA-AUS license at Lethbridge Victoria with Bruce Vickers, in a Tecnam. Great fun and steep learning curve for a salty old fella like me. But then with the currency the way it is against the US dollar, I trawled the websites and imported a 1999 Maule MXT-7-180A. Yes a GA aircraft, Duh :yes:but the T is for trainer and it has a tricycle undercarrage. YMT was selling at a great price with only 600 hours. I describe the Maule as a Tecnam on steroids. So I have been attempting to get my GA license these last 5 months at Moorabbin. Huge step up for me and a pain in the brain, going from fun flying to lets just say "less than" fun flying. I am nearly there now after another 30 hours (plus two longer trips that somehow did not count) to convert from RA-AUS to PPL. So for anyone who is considering converting, particularly in Victoria, then I may be able to assist with some tips from a silly old bugger who has been through the wringer! Just one day away from my final test flight, having passed all the theory, but still a long way to go before I would call myself experienced. However, I am loving the freedom and the expanded horizons flying gives you. And I have met some great people and made some friends along the way too. Jeff Gordon 3
Suitman Posted July 26, 2011 Posted July 26, 2011 Welcome Jeff, You are the 2nd person I've heard of flying a Maule. Good luck on the path to your PPL. Peter
fly_tornado Posted July 26, 2011 Posted July 26, 2011 Hi Jeff, Maule looks nice! I would love to hear your story on converting to GA from RAA.
FlyingVizsla Posted July 27, 2011 Posted July 27, 2011 Hi Jeff, How did you find the buying and importing of the Maule from the States? There are a few on this site who are toying with the idea now the exchange rate is so good. Did you use an agent, share a container, what was the CASA - registration experience? Sue
Guest davidh10 Posted July 27, 2011 Posted July 27, 2011 Welcome to the forums, Jeff. Sounds like you have some interesting and useful stories to tell.
Jeff Gordon Posted July 27, 2011 Author Posted July 27, 2011 Thanks for the warm response fellas, will log in and tell the story of imoporting a Maule from the States on another thread. I had a hellava day today and completely wrung out after 3.5 hours flying doing the final PPL practical test. Feel really gutted with my stupid mistakes and don’t really think I am up to this flying caper at all. Got to go back tomorrow to do practice forced landing again and precautionary search patterns also recovering from unusual attitudes, (that’s when you get a hood put on so you can’t see the instruments and the Flying Instructor puts the plane in a downward spiral spin and then gives you’re the controls and says "Your plane"! YEEEK…just too much adrenalin for an old fart like me to cope with.
av8vfr Posted July 27, 2011 Posted July 27, 2011 Hey Jeff, these things we all have to do. Think of it not as a fail, just handled it without the proper safety margin. So take the instructor advice on board and react correctly next time and you will be fine. I have seen pilots with bigger bank balances than flying abilities that "eventually" get through. After all, your training instructor would have put you through the same scenarios and given the green light before you get to the final test. Remember the CFI is there to assess your ability to fly the aircraft in the current conditions. Ask as many questions as you like before departure because in the real world that is what you will do before you leave on a solo flight. I like to talk my way through the flight with an instructor (even radio ops) to ensure I have the right method with all my ops before I depart. But at the end of the day, if you aren't confident with an instructor how can you be confident when it is just you and the plane. You must command the plane with or without an assistant. We can all make bad decisions but back yourself and adjust if the situation changes. I did a tail wind forced landing once and passed cause I had a back-up strip that I had to use! Blue skies! Matt
Jeff Gordon Posted July 28, 2011 Author Posted July 28, 2011 One of the hardest days of my life and I'm 60 early next month. Seems the GA PPL exam is a trial by many small cuts and I went to bed at 8pm last night completely exhausted. Fronted up today to finish off the landings etc and the winds increased to 16 with gusts to 25. Not the sort of weather to complete the tests so I pulled the pin, (that made the examiner happy) and live to fly another day. I ran g my RA instructor and unloaded the day to him and felt much better afterwards. At least I feel he has some faith in me! Feeling refreshed today and am taking it all more posiively, knowing that I am on a learning curve and will not stop learning as long as I am flying. So can take yesterdays experiences and put them in the knowledge basket and move on. At least he has not failed me yet...Although I think I am running very close! Thanks heaps for your support and comments. Very much appreciated. 1
dazza 38 Posted July 28, 2011 Posted July 28, 2011 Welcome Jeff,Ive always had a soft spot for Maules, especially after watching Big Rocks, Long Props with Greg Millers, modified machine.
Jeff Gordon Posted July 28, 2011 Author Posted July 28, 2011 Maules are a great plane, hand build by a family company in the States and not mass produced, but must be kept in a hangar because of the rag fuselage, behind the doors. Comparing my Maule with a similarly aged 172 Cessna there is quite a savings in price (around $100K) and with its STOL performance, stronger undercarriage, bigger wheels and larger payload (400 Kgs), it beats me why anyone would choose a Cessna over a Maule. But then as so many of these choices are; it comes down to personal taste. Maule performance is very much like a Tecnam with cruise KIAS of 110, 72k glide speed, 70k coming into land, 65k over the fence and a stall of 35 - 40k with one stage of flaps. Two stages of flaps @ 40 degrees and the flaps are nearly the length of the wing, so huge float in ability. I always felt the Tecnam was hard to get onto the ground, it just wanted to keep flying and I often had to use side slip to get it down. Being heavier, the Maule with reduced revs and 2 stages of flaps will drop out of the sky quite rapidly. Check out some of the Youtube footage. Type in Maule STOL or Maule Bushwacker to see some skilled flying. Thinking today that with the weather looking bad in Melbourne for the next week, I will hold off finishing my PPL and try and get some training time in if possible, before I go out with the CFI again. I have programmed a trip from Melbourne to St George on Friday the 5th August and was hoping to have my PPL before then so the pressure was on me to complete...and now with that not possilbe the pressure is off. I have asked a Maule driver friend to fly over from Tassie and fly with us to St George and back. What's in St George??..Well the BIG FAT & UGLY BASTARDS 60TH BIRTHDAY BASH, thats what!
Jeff Gordon Posted July 28, 2011 Author Posted July 28, 2011 Is the steering wheel on the other side? No but we fly upside down in Oz. and you know what Confusius says "Man who flies upside down is bound to have C**k-up!"
Deskpilot Posted July 29, 2011 Posted July 29, 2011 No but we fly upside down in Oz. and you know what Confusius says "Man who flies upside down is bound to have C**k-up!" That should read 'Woman......................' I needn't explain why, should I.
Jeff Gordon Posted July 29, 2011 Author Posted July 29, 2011 I can't believe it... and you are the first to find out... hot off the press... I have passed my PPL. Talk about death by a thousand cuts...but now I am through I reckon the learning begins. So from a very relieved but very green pilot it's goodnight from me and goodnight from him! 1
Jeff Gordon Posted July 29, 2011 Author Posted July 29, 2011 Thanks Guys. See you all in the Air sometime. I will be there at the next fly in. Already interested in Temora in November.
kaz3g Posted July 29, 2011 Posted July 29, 2011 I can't believe it... and you are the first to find out... hot off the press... I have passed my PPL. Talk about death by a thousand cuts...but now I am through I reckon the learning begins. So from a very relieved but very green pilot it's goodnight from me and goodnight from him! Hi Jeff Well done on the PPL and best wishes for your 60th The Maule looks lovely but there is something wrong... it seems to be staying horizontal all by itself... Is that a trestle I see propping up the nose? Hey... when you organise your hangar and get settled, how about promoting a night out on Port Phillip for all the local flyers on that beautiful boat of yours? It would make a great meet and greet for RA and GA club members around Melbourne. And don't forget to show us your aeroplane next time you come back to Coldstream. Best wishes kaz PS For info of all... jeff has a VERY big boat
pudestcon Posted July 29, 2011 Posted July 29, 2011 Congratulations Jeff, and I agree,,,, Now the learning starts. Pud
Jeff Gordon Posted July 30, 2011 Author Posted July 30, 2011 Thanks Kaz and Pud, nice idea to have a big Pilot shindig on the boat. Will give it some thought and see what I can come up with.
skeptic36 Posted July 30, 2011 Posted July 30, 2011 No but we fly upside down in Oz. and you know what Confusius says "Man who flies upside down is bound to have C**k-up!" Confusius also say "man who goes through airport turnstile sideways is going to Bangkok 1
Jeff Gordon Posted August 2, 2011 Author Posted August 2, 2011 I have thought about what happened in the GA test last week and decided that what happened was mainly due to myself, my lack of knowledge mixed with a pinch of over-confidence. I believe now that the ATO was trying to teach me a very important lesson. That is take nothing for granted and don't fill in your knowledge gaps with a she'll be right attitude. Thorough planning is the key, and to take off without a plan, just thinking things will work out is a recipe for disaster. I am a great optimist and have always believed in the power of positive thinking, but that will not be good enough when something unusual comes up, and you don't have a plan to fall back on. Every word he said to me during the 3.5 hours and the 1 hour after that the following day has stuck, and I have being going over and over it in my mind. Shaken my confidence? Yes for sure it has. Made me a better aviator? Yes it certainly has! 1
lark Posted July 26, 2013 Posted July 26, 2013 Never quite got used to the look of maules with a nose wheel!
djpacro Posted July 26, 2013 Posted July 26, 2013 Nearly two years since Jeff's post, I'm used to the nose-wheel now. Haven't seen it for a few months now, it has gone somewhere ls I guess.
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