Pretty new here

[Lamiunto]

Hi, this isn't really my first post, but that doesn't matter, only 7 or so posts on this forum still makes me a newbie.

 

Anyway, my real name is Shaun, I am a student pilot based in Mackay. The flight school I go to isn't a registered FTF just yet, they do have an inspection on the 21st June though, and they already have a Gazelle on top of that, so it is all good. They are in the process of negotiating with the owner of the Gazelle so that they can re-register it with RA-Aust, but finding the owner is proving difficult.

 

I was initially training for my PPL, but then I found out, that just because I have type 1 diabetes, the costs for my medical is going to be around the $1000 mark, and being a real student as well, I don't have that kind of cash just lying around. I have my diabetes controlled within the margins that CASA wants, I don't have any complications, amputations etc, been a diabetic for 5 years and I am now 19 years old. So I have a very good handle on it, just don't have that kind of money. Maybe I will have it next year, who knows, hopefully my RA-Aust hours can count towards my PPL.

 

So, I did initially fly the Cessna 172, all the way from basic effects of controls, through to slow flight and stalling. Just saturday gone past I hopped into the gazelle, on a really bad day, with a lot of clouds and rain, with some gusts too, which threw that small plane around a lot, but it was nice to dodge some clouds and rain, looking for patches of sunlight and then being sucked up into a cloud at one stage. I was trying to keep about 700ft so that we could see below the clouds and have a look at the situation at the airport, and as I was flying under a cloud, going 70kt, I felt a jolt upwards, and for the duration I was flying under that cloud, I was climbing at 400ft/min, which was really funny, my instructor said it was nothing to worry about and that it happens to all light aircraft when flying so close to the bottom of a cloud.

 

So saturday coming, I am booked in for take-offs, landings and circuits. Great stuff, maybe after that I will ask an instructor to take me out to the training area so that I can practice some stalls in the gazelle, I love those things. I had another instructor take me out in the cessna once, and he showed me a wing-over, now that was a weird feeling, he is an ex-RAAF pilot, and he has an aerobatic endorsement, so he showed me a good deal of what the cessna is capable of, in its utility load range of course. ;)

 

Apart from flying, I have a big interest in programming, that is actually what I am going to be studying next year, a bachelor of IT, with a lot of the programming electives thrown in.

 

That's pretty much me. Thanks for this great site, its really useful, kudos to the owner and developer.

 

 

[Admin]

Hi Lamiunto

 

A formal welcome to the forums.

 

Now you have touched on some interesting points in your post and I will leave it up to others to comment and be "friendly and kind" as you will find that there is a lot of fun things to learn when flying and one of them is to become aware of the dangers of what cloud can suddenly do. It all comes from two areas - your experience as you gain it and the helpful advice of other pilots.

 

Again welcome and we all hope you enjoy your stay here and your training!

 

 

[Guest David C]

Lamiunto .

 

Welcome my friend to the site ;).. You will find much in the way of friendly banter here , as well as a great source of information , which we all share . You will have a good time being part of our community . You are not alone in being a controlled type 1 diabetic pilot. There are quite a few pilots out there who check their BSL in flight and it should be no impediment to your ambitions to attaining your RAAus pilot cerificate . Good luck in your future aspirations and keep smiling .

 

Dave C

 

 

[Guest b1rd]

Go for it Shaun. You are young and have it all in front of you. I wish there had been encouraging forums like this when I was your age ! The net was something we caught fish in. I may be wrong but my perception back in the mid 70's was unless you joined the RAAF or you had friends in the business, recreational flying was inordinately expensive for the common man and put a lot of people off including myself.

 

Good luck in your flying endeavours.

 

 

[Lamiunto]

Thanks for the welcomes everyone. :big_grin:

 

I surely do plan on getting my pilots certificate without letting my constant sugar checking getting in the way, I already have about 3-4 hours flight time, and I have gotten the routine down to a pat, which makes it very easy for me, and makes it much safer for me to fly. Most of my lessons have only been 45 minutes long, so I haven't checked in flight yet, but I do check every 30 minutes before a flight to get a trend and make sure my BSL isn't doing something weird, then one last check before I get in and fly.

 

When I get to the longer lessons and solo's, I will definitely start checking in flight as well.

 

Again, thanks for all the welcomes, I see I am going to have a great time here. ;)

 

 

[Guest Andys@coffs]

that just because I have type 1 diabetes, the costs for my medical is going to be around the $1000 mark, and being a real student as well, I don't have that kind of cash just lying around. I have my diabetes controlled within the margins that CASA wants, I don't have any complications, amputations etc, been a diabetic for 5 years and I am now 19 years old. So I have a very good handle on it, just don't have that kind of money. Maybe I will have it next year, who knows, hopefully my RA-Aust hours can count towards my PPL..

Hi Shaun

 

 

I too am a Type 1 diabetic. Let me tell you a hard luck story as to how I found out.

 

 

I spent 11 years in the RAAF working on Aircraft Radio/Radar. Spent time on F111's at Amberley and P3C's at Edinburgh. In my last year in the RAAF I was offered a job in a defence contractors organisation that came with one of those $ offers that was too good to refuse. As such I started the process of separation from the RAAF. Now I was in a special relatively unique position and the Commanding Officer didn’t want me to leave without giving 3-6 months to train a replacement. I bitched and complained and in the end they let me out in 2 months.

 

 

As I did my exist medical sugar showed in my urine, however a retest showed clear so I was off. A month later I was in hospital with a diagnosis of type 1.

 

 

The irony in this situation was that if I had agreed to the 3-6 month exit, which was acceptable to the new employer, I would have been diagnosed in the RAAF and as such would have been medically discharged with pension for the rest of my life. The reason I wanted out so quick was that the new job came with a few extra $.....

 

 

Anyway, that said life as a defence contractor is pretty good and I never regretted being in the RAAF and I never regretted leaving. Personally (diabetes not withstanding) I wouldn’t go back in, but would encourage my kids to join.

 

 

I too am now in IT, specifically managing the roll-out of the Oracle ERP business Systems within BAE Systems Australia (previously known as British Aerospace).

 

 

Anyway enough rambling. I guess the point I would make is that type 1 is a problem, but well controlled it makes zero difference to aviating within the RAA framework so have fun

 

 

Andy

 

 

[Lamiunto]

Hey Andy

 

I tell you, it is unbelievable how many type 1's are flying aircraft now. Just 10 years ago it was extremely difficult, and then there were very few of them, making it difficult to get an opinion. Luckily the winds of change are on the horizon, both medically and regulation wise. I heard about a conference held by the ICAO and type 1 diabetes was discussed, I don't know what happened there, but it shows people in high places are taking note. CASA is also thinking of people who generally will be hard pressed to get a class 2 by allowing you to fly with an RPL and no class 2 medical, obviously with restrictions attached.

 

Then medically, they are already trialling medications that can delay or even prevent the onset of type 1 diabetes, then there are the various "cures", but I am not going to talk about those, they tend to get your hopes up for nothing. More promising though, is the artificial pancreas, which has already got its beginnings in the MiniMed Paradigm pump with continuous glucose monitoring, now they only need to close the loop, make some fancy algorithms and get approval, and you will have a mechanical device controlling your sugars, this is also being extensively trialled in France.

 

So it is my belief, than in less than 10 years time, you will go for your medical and a scenario like this will play out:

 

Doctor: "Oh, you have type 1 diabetes, how are you controlling it?"

 

Patient: "Artificial Pancreas"

 

Doctor: "Great, here is your class 1 medical"

 

Ok, maybe not so simple, but you get my drift.

 

In the meantime though, I am keeping good control of my diabetes so that when revolutionary treatments come out, I don't have any other complication that would disqualify me. Plus, diabetes is not going to stand between me and my dreams either. ;)

 

 

[cazza]

Hi Lamiunto,

 

I don't have (to my knowledge) type 1 diabetes. I have old age and unfortunately, that's only going to get worse. However, I want to welcome you. I learned to fly on a Gazelle (GAZ) and she was a beautiful aircraft and I really loved flying her. So I bought my own bright yellow GAzelle (CAZZA) and I flew her for over a year. Then I decided I wanted an aircraft that was a little faster and that would hold some luggage and enough fuel for me to get a bit of range in my cross country flying. So I have ordered a J160, but gee I miss flying the Gazelle (CAZZa).

 

So

 

 

[PaulN]

I have old age and unfortunately, that's only going to get worse.

First you identified yourself as "late in life" and now "suffering old age". Give us break Cazza, if a young chick like you is thinking "old", where does that leave us retired old farts? I just wish I was your age again, know as much as you do, and already discovered the delights of flight as you have. You're a rare breed, and your aviator buddies are impressed.

 

Paul

 

 

[cazza]

Why thank you Paul for your kind words. Come and visit sometime at Temora and I'll give you a cuppa.

 

cazza

 

 

[Lamiunto]

Thanks everyone for the kind words. It is nice to know I am not alone in the type 1 diabetes arena. Lucky I don't have old age syndrome just yet, so I can enjoy every hour of flight time I have, and can get while I am still able to, and hopefully that continues for a very, very long time.

 

I am going to send away for my RAA membership next week, I am conducting my training on my CASA SPL at the moment, and my CFI said he talked to an RAA rep the other day, and was told all the hours I accumulate until my school becomes a registered FTF will count to my pilots certificate. So I am all for it. I just find the $170/hr in the Gazelle a bit much, they are thinking of getting a Jabiru, can't wait to fly one of those!

 

By the way, if any of the powers that be want to know where I am learning, it is at Horizon Airways Mackay. Now you know which one it is, so you can make it an FTF on Monday, how about that?

 

 

[eastmeg2]

Hey Cazza,

 

I think you should start heating up the urn now, 'cause there's gonna be a whole flock of us stopping in at Temora on Friday afternoon and leaving again on Sat Morning, including 4 Jabs, 1 Gazelle, 2 C150's, etc etc etc.

 

Cheers,

 

Glen

 

 

[Yenn]

G'day Shaun. Make the most of what you have got, there are a lot of pilots with diabetis and they seem to lead a good life. For those of us with old age just remember it is better than the alternative in most cases. My hip was hurting like hell this morning but after I had struggled into the plane and gone to look at the top of the clouds it was much better. I don't know if it anoxia treatment or just mind over matter but it worked for me today.

 

I started flying at Mackay years ago with Northern Flying Services run by Rex Laver but I bet he is long gone. Most of my training there was done from Collinsville where I worked, just a tin shed and a dirt strip.