Training. How good is it?

[Yenn]

I flew home the other day from Old Station. When I arrive in the circuit I se a powered parachute flying around in the circuit area but below circuit height. I didn't hear any radio traffic from him.

 

After landing and having heard him around the area and it had gone quiet I looked at the strip. What I see is a powered parachute sitting right in the middle of the strip unrigging his plane.

 

I talked to the pilot and another local pilot who told me that permission had been gained from the owner to fly there.

 

I asked about radio and he had been on 126.7, which is not the required frequency. Didn't seem to know anything about the requirement to be on area frequency when the strip is not on the charts.

 

He also had no idea that de rigging in the centre of an 800m strip could cause a problem. This was at about 1645 local time, not all that long before last light.

 

The local pilot said there was nobody else flying, obviously he didn't know I was not on site. It was just lucky I arrived before he started de rigging. Wouldn't have been a happy chappie if I had to wait for him to get off the strip in failing light.

 

I am told RAAus are responsible for powered parachutes. How good is the training. Would be nice to know it was just a very rare occurence. But was it?

 

 

[alf jessup]

Yenn,

 

Well you should have seen what it was like years back at Mt Beauty at the annual gathering of moths flyin in.

 

Powered parachutes Trikes, and some 3 axis, rules outlined for everyone, chutes to turn right off 36 away from the runway.

 

Like to hazard a guess how many turned left and crossed the active runway or flew down the centre of 18 while Trikes or 3 axis were on final or in the process of taking off, half of them didn't have radios and half of them didn't have a clue, some were good some were bad, used to have my neck on a swivel

 

Lucky some of us realise we are not 10 ft tall and bullet proof and that thing can happen to us and not someone else

 

I haven't been for a few years now as my roster didn't line up, but hopefully it has improved from the past efforts

 

 

[frank marriott]

Didn't seem to know anything about the requirement to be on area frequency when the strip is not on the charts

Because a large number of pilots think CAAP 166 is wrong, it doesn't work in a lot of places. You are correct in what you say legally, but when something is ignored for whatever reason you have to make allowance for that. Personally I monitor both freqs. for that very reason (keeping in mind there is still some non radio traffic at some locations)

 

 

[Yenn]

Frank. I know that CAAP 166 is stupid, but that is what we have and we should abide by it. There may be a change in the future as CASA are developing a discussion paper. I will probably be dead from old age before anything happens. Not easy to monitor two frequencie with an Icom A200.

 

As for the de rigging on the strip I hope nobody considers that is acceptable practice.

 

 

[storchy neil]

yen the lead to this says it all who did he train with

 

goes to prove that you cant train a complete idiot not the first time have heard of it ore very simular

 

like a person starting up was abused for starting up by a person setting up trike who was asked to set it up away from three aircraft as they would be leaving in about 10 to 15 minutes granted it was 25 minutes

 

according to him they should have pushed the aircraft down the strip :please:neil