Easter trip to gyro Nats in a jab.

[Russ]

Blue sky's, 20kt tail winds, nice trip.

 

( getting flamed for " assumptions" by some........no next time, mums the word )

 

Next trip, NQ to NT to WA.....coastal as much as possible. 6 plus weeks duration, lots of folks, places to see....stay tuned.

 

 

 

[Ignition]

This story terrifies me, Flight level 7500, poor planning, VFR pilot flying IFR conditions, relying on OzRunways GPS and other pilots for weather, far too many risks taken.

 

Human Factors, perfect example. Please take the time to get more training before you become a statistic. And I mean that with genuine concern for your safety and the safety of others.

 

 

[Russ]

VFR at all times, ( broken cloud )

 

Cruise alts...0 to 179 15...35...55..75..95

 

180 to 359 25...45...65...85

 

Charts onboard as backup, as always

 

Always.....knowing exactly my position

 

Obtaining up to the minute weather from folks ahead.....so what's wrong with that.

 

A possible divert can then be tracked.

 

 

[deadstick]

Good example of some logical decision making Russ, used all the tools at you disposal to make sound decisions in an ever changing environment. We'll done.

 

 

[Ignition]

VFR at all times, ( broken cloud )Cruise alts...0 to 179 15...35...55..75..95

180 to 359 25...45...65...85

 

Charts onboard as backup, as always

 

Always.....knowing exactly my position

 

Obtaining up to the minute weather from folks ahead.....so what's wrong with that.

 

A possible divert can then be tracked.

"cloud closing in......bad, he tells me head out off Dunk, looks ok out there, get under it, then all's good. So east I go, iPad has me now over Dunk, things are not looking good, infact BAD.....so 180 it is, back inland, tracking Garnet, bit by bit I'm now getting better glimps of ground, bewdy, iPad has me near Dimbulah, good hole under me, bewdy, down to 2000 I go, now tracking Atherton, in the distance it's not looking good, big storm clouds, raining for sure, so now track Mareeba, dodge a couple of rain cells, but arrive Ok."

 

Relying on GPS for position, Glimpses of the ground and needing to go through a hole to get under the layer of cloud you are above... Does not sound VFR, a precautionary landing earlier would have been a better decision if this were the situation.

 

 

[frank marriott]

"flite leval 7500" - I know what you mean but altitude 7500 would be better, I suggest - 750,oooft sounds a tad high.

 

Recently heard an inbound call at 10nm "leaving FL3,500" - if it was possible it would be a pretty steep arrival.

 

 

[facthunter]

FL means you are on 1013.2 on the altimeter subscale (Above roughly 10,000 feet) Nev

 

 

[SDQDI]

Thanks for posting Russ it's good to share these stories. There is nothing wrong with being above the clouds if no more than 4 octas and at no stage did Russ say it was worse than that it seems you all had a better idea of what he was seeing than he did, with 4 octas of cloud if above it the gaps could definitely be described as holes. As he said he new where he was at all times and had his charts with him as backup.

 

All this negativity and 'assuming' of wrongdoing is not very nice and doesn't encourage any of the rest of us to share our stories.

 

 

[Ignition]

All this negativity and 'assuming' of wrongdoing is not very nice and doesn't encourage any of the rest of us to share our stories.

And this highlights a safety culture that needs to change!

 

If people are afraid to tell there stories based on recieving a little criticism (constructive or otherwise) then they really should be re-evaluating whether they are in the correct mindset to be behind the controls of an aircraft.

 

Maybe, just maybe, if people weren't scared about looking like a wanker or too proud to admit they may have f***cked up, we could all learn from their mistakes and aviation would become just that bit safer.

 

If you are one of the people who says that this does not encourage people to share their stories, than you are one of the people contributing to this idea of it being shameful for others to know you have made a mistake.

 

We all make mistakes from time to time and if people shared their stories more often, more people would feel less shamed to admit they stuffed up, because hey, they arent alone, and that changes the entire safety culture where people can post shit and be happy knowing that other pilots have their back and are willing to point out areas that they may be deficient or need to get some more training with and suddenly we find we would all be working together to make aviation the safest it can be.

 

So if you genuinely are scared about posting a story were you have stuffed up, reconsider whether you should be flying at all because that story you don't share may have the ability to save someone else from making the same mistake, and potentially save a life.

 

 

[SDQDI]

No I am not scared of posting stories where I have 'stuffed up' or made a bad choice. what I am saying is when someone posts a story where they have not done anything illegal and get blasted accusing them of breaking every rule in the book that is not helpful and that does make me not want to post any stories.

 

I can understand people wanting to ensure that others are abiding by the rules but there is polite ways to do it.

 

 

[Ignition]

What positive things can we learn from this story to make flying safer:

 

- Precautionary Landings before things get too bad are always a smart option

 

- The 5/6 P's, prior planning prevents poor performance.. Plan every detail to the best extent you can, if going on a cross country flight where there is the potential for bad weather, don't jump in the plane, grab OzRunways and blast off, plan your flight before you get in the plane properly, allow a good number of alternates so that you never find yourself dodging storms and going through holes.

 

Feel free to add to the list...

 

 

[Guest Andys@coffs]

Ig, it was my own experience that what I was taught during training around "precautionary landings" being a really good thing seemed to magically change as soon as I had lotsa my own $$ tied up in my own chariot...... I came to realise that the likelihood of a "precautionary landing" being carried out without any damage to your own aircraft was similarly likely as buying a lotto ticket and winning....... I think the domain of successful outlandings is the domain of the savannah STOL, or equiv aircraft with the humungous balloon tyres....Jab's with tyres like ours as outlanding implements make fantastic ploughs!

 

That's not to say precautionary landings are always a bad idea, but realise that their use, in my opinion, is on exhaustion as a possibility of a bunch of better alternates.

 

In the case above lets for argument say that Russ did find himself VFR ontop with 8/8ths occlusion.....if we are talking precautionary landing then the specific problem would seem to somehow have been overcome by virtue he has to be through the 8/8ths in order to worry about outlanding....

 

Andy

 

 

[deadstick]

Geez, take a bex! He's telling his story of a flight where decisions made and followed payed off! Even if he found himself on top with more than 4 he made the right decision to get the helm out of there. No pressonitis no pushing a bad situation, those that assume rules were deliberately broken take a breath! I once shared some video of my 230 landing on the new strip I just made on the property, I got smashed by some deadbeat instructor full of juice from Tasmania, his criticism was completely misguided and wrong and really not nesecary even if his assumptions were right! FFS give Ross a break, easy to judge and criticise his decision making process from the comfort of your assumption generating lounge chair! I thank Ross for sharing his trip with us and hope he does so in the next one.

 

 

[deadstick]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTAPiXu7ltE

[Downunder]

Good to see you made several 180 degree turns Russ and was not afraid to make them.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

We all draw the line at different places.