Keen to get away from CASA and get into RAA flying

[joerow]

An old professional pilot new to the forum. Mostly interested in bush aeroplanes I can fly from a paddock at home. Would be keen to hear from people who have experience with AAK Hornets or Bushcats or maybe Highlanders.

 

Cheers

 

 

[FlyingVizsla]

Welcome Joe! Unfortunately you won't get away from CASA by marrying the daughter RAA! However the exemptions do give us some freedoms.

 

We have a RANS S7 Courier (home built from a kit) and love it. I did my conversion from C152 to ultralights in a Lightwing and we are looking at doing an airstrip at home. There's plenty on establishing your own airstrip on this forum. Depends a lot on your local Council.

 

What are you flying now?

 

Sue

 

 

[Guest Guest]

Welcome Joe! Unfortunately you won't get away from CASA by marrying the daughter RAA! However the exemptions do give us some freedoms.We have a RANS S7 Courier (home built from a kit) and love it. I did my conversion from C152 to ultralights in a Lightwing and we are looking at doing an airstrip at home. There's plenty on establishing your own airstrip on this forum. Depends a lot on your local Council.What are you flying now?

 

Sue

Haha I like that Sue, re the marrying the CASA daughter, all their family is infected with a desease that should be terminal!

 

 

[derekliston]

If you already, as I gather from your post, have a GA licence, why change it, unless you have a medical problem preventing you from keeping it. I fly a VH registered Zenith stol CH701 which can be either GA or RAA. With VH I don’t have to pay an annual fee to anyone and I have no problem with controlled airspace. I’ll probably receive flak over this, but what started out as a good idea has evolved into (as FlyingVizsla says) a minor arm of CASA so I see no advantage in changing.

 

 

[joerow]

Hi Derekliston yes I have GA licences but the thought of doing more medicals after giving away professional flying doesn't thrill me. But you are probably right...I should try and keep both.

 

 

[joerow]

Hi Sue. I would love to know more about what you think of your Rans Courier. It is another aircraft I am very interested in but I have no great wish to build one. I would rather just buy one and just enjoy flying it. How long did it take to build?

 

I fly helicopters now but started out chasing cows on stations with fixed wing.

 

I will have to do some research on using home for operating from.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

An old professional pilot new to the forum. Mostly interested in bush aeroplanes I can fly from a paddock at home. Would be keen to hear from people who have experience with AAK Hornets or Bushcats or maybe Highlanders. Cheers

Welcome aboard, Joerow. I'm sure you'll get lots of useful advice from this forum; Even within my own local club, members have a big range of aircraft types including some good STOL bush craft.Our president flies an AAK Hornet, which is made in Taree and designed for Australian conditions. It's built like a Landcruiser. Another club member is the importer of SuperSTOL aircraft. Neither needs a runway.

 

 

[FlyingVizsla]

Hi Sue. I would love to know more about what you think of your Rans Courier. It is another aircraft I am very interested in but I have no great wish to build one. I would rather just buy one and just enjoy flying it. How long did it take to build?I fly helicopters now but started out chasing cows on stations with fixed wing.I will have to do some research on using home for operating from.

My yet-to-be husband started building the RANS S7 in his backyard shed over 6 years. But he had a slack-attack, the wife got cancer which meant many trips away for treatment, she died, he moped for 6 months, chased me for 13 months and finally got it finished the month before the wedding. Without all that excitement he may well have had a plane in 4 years, while working full time "& doing it properly" he says. It is like a big Meccano set with only the fabric and painting challenging.

If you want to just buy one, there is one available at Childers. It is a slightly longer version; the S7S. This one won awards; the guy who now owns it didn't build it, but went halves in it with a student so he could "learn to fly in his own plane", thus saving money. Now both want to move on to other aircraft. You can see a lot of videos of it on Facebook - Isis Flying Club (Childers Qld) Here's a link Isis Flying Club It is the white one.

 

Chasing cows in C152s - my girl did a bit of that until CASA changed the regulations - not a scratch on her. Ahh, them were the days.

 

Sue

 

 

[joerow]

Thanks for the info Sue. Four years to build ....just confirms to me I don't want to build one.... am not that patient. But I do admire people who do persevere and finish those projects. I have looked at that white Rans on the net and it is very impressive. I saw that the chap wanted to sell it but I thought that post I saw was quite old. I will have to track him down as I have not seen it advertised anywhere else.

 

Yes aviation in Australia has become too regulated and I am glad I got to fly in places where you just used your own common sense to stay safe.

 

Thanks again.

 

 

[FlyingVizsla]

.... I saw that the chap wanted to sell it but I thought that post I saw was quite old. I will have to track him down as I have not seen it advertised anywhere else.

He manages the Facebook site, so if you "send a message" he checks them and replies within a day or two. I am the Secretary for the Club and he's better than me at getting back to people. I don't think he's in a rush to sell as, by the videos, he is having too much fun. He told me he wants to sell to buy an aircraft he can instruct in.Regarding the RANS build, I said 2 years (but I am a very organised planner), he said 4 years reflecting his haphazard approach to things - will work that out when we get to it .. and discover we need to order something that will take 3 weeks to arrive.

 

 

[joerow]

He manages the Facebook site, so if you "send a message" he checks them and replies within a day or two. I am the Secretary for the Club and he's better than me at getting back to people. I don't think he's in a rush to sell as, by the videos, he is having too much fun. He told me he wants to sell to buy an aircraft he can instruct in.Regarding the RANS build, I said 2 years (but I am a very organised planner), he said 4 years reflecting his haphazard approach to things - will work that out when we get to it .. and discover we need to order something that will take 3 weeks to arrive.

Well at least he did finish it.....eventually. I am not on Bookface but did send him a message on this site. Hopefully he still reads things on here.

Thanks again.

 

 

[BlurE]

I think with an RPL (CASA) you can take one PAX without a class 2.

 

Not sure what is involved or if you can dial a PPL/CPL back to an RPL?

 

 

[derekliston]

I think with an RPL (CASA) you can take one PAX without a class 2.Not sure what is involved or if you can dial a PPL/CPL back to an RPL?

I asked that question of CASA at one of their safety seminars and their rep’s only response was “why would you want to?”

[djpacro]

refer 61.410 if no class 2 medical for a PPL, same privileges as the RPL ....

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

JoeRow

 

I am off to the Rans factory in mid october for their open day. I am keen on the new S21 Outbound. Have a look at it. You can fit the 180hp Titan in it although I am looking at something around the 130hp. I am going to have a fly and most likely will order the kit. It will go together really quickly as it is all aluminium no rag covering at all. Have a look at the Rans Aircraft Inc facebook page they have construction photos and videos etc. Also their website has a lot of info on it.

 

 

[joerow]

Hi Kyle

 

The S21 looks a very nice aircraft. The performance numbers are impressive as well. I hope your trip to the factory goes well and you get your kit. Good luck with it all. I just don't have the time or the inclination to build one. There is always too much to do around the place at home,

 

 

[Guest debra stewart]

hi Joe,

 

Welcome ! Don't think that RAA is much different now to CASA. It has become the second cousin and just over the 5 years I've had my plane, so many things have changed dramatically ( and not for the better).

 

Anyway, not much we can do about that. Fortunately you are in the bush which makes it more bearable.

 

Enjoy, and hope to speak again soon, Debbie

 

 

[rhtrudder]

Hi KyleThe S21 looks a very nice aircraft. The performance numbers are impressive as well. I hope your trip to the factory goes well and you get your kit. Good luck with it all. I just don't have the time or the inclination to build one. There is always too much to do around the place at home,

I know of a real good savannah for sale , definitely worth a look

[Dave English]

I have a casa and an RAAUS licence and a light sports aircraft. With the new regs coming in, you can take one passenger without a class 2 medical, just like RAAUS.

 

The downside of RAAUS is no controlled airspace, the $230 annual fee and 600kg MTOW.

 

The upside is that you can buy an aircraft and maintain it yourself after doing an online exam, whereas you can only maintain a VH experimental if you built it yourself, so it means paying for the 100 hourly's.

 

Another consideration is that my sister and other respectable people probably would baulk at gettinginto my light sports but would fly with me in a piper, whereas my kids love the LSA.

 

The LSA is great fun to fly and if I go for a joy flight, I do it in my light sports because its more fun, but there is nothing like flying over metropolitan Melbourne and landing at Essendon in a piper.

 

The other thing to consider is that when the Part 149 comes in, RAAUS will be wanting to register 1500kg MOTW aircraft and do airspace endorsements. When (if) that happens, there will be little difference between the licences.

 

Looking down the track, if the RAUS and the CASA licence is the same, what will be the raison de etra for RAUS? Expect things to morph again.

 

 

[joerow]

Hi Debra and Dave. Thanks for the reply. It seems the old saying "ignorance is bliss" applies in my case. The main attraction for me to RA was not having to do medicals and being able to maintain my own aircraft. Also the different bush style aircraft available within the category fit my needs.

 

Pilots (myself included when younger ) often aspire to fly "bigger and better" aircraft. Its been my experience the "bigger and better" they are, the less fun they are to fly.

 

Your final comment Dave makes a lot of sense. Sometimes we need to be careful for what we wish for.

 

 

[joerow]

I know of a real good savannah for sale , definitely worth a look

Thanks rhtrudder, I know Savanah's have good field performance but it has to be a tail dragger. Probably seems silly but I have a thing about them.

[up-into-the-air]

Welcome Joe! Unfortunately you won't get away from CASA by marrying the daughter RAA! However the exemptions do give us some freedoms.We have a RANS S7 Courier (home built from a kit) and love it. I did my conversion from C152 to ultralights in a Lightwing and we are looking at doing an airstrip at home. There's plenty on establishing your own airstrip on this forum. Depends a lot on your local Council.What are you flying now?

 

Sue

RAA is the unmarried daughter of Satan!!

[Hwansey]

Hello Joerow. I recently retired from an airline career due medical. Went through same musings as yours. RA certificate fine by me. Started aerial mustering in 1981, bush flying till 1987. Joined QF 1988. Spent rest of aviation lifetime in CTA, cloud and back of clock flying. Very grateful to be able to return to beginnings.

 

Re your aircraft musings, mine were similar and I decided on the Hornet.

 

 

[Yenn]

You could do the RAMPC route. That is get the Dr to do the drivers licence medical, with a few extra questions thrown in. If you are over 75 in Qld you have to have a medical to drive and RAMPC is practicly the same. You get the same priveledges with a GA plane as you have with RAAus, 1 passenger, day VFR and no aerobatics or night flight.

 

I fly GA and RAAus, but am considering re registering my RAAus plane as GA to save money and get away from the non professional RAAus management.

 

 

[joerow]

Hello Joerow. I recently retired from an airline career due medical. Went through same musings as yours. RA certificate fine by me. Started aerial mustering in 1981, bush flying till 1987. Joined QF 1988. Spent rest of aviation lifetime in CTA, cloud and back of clock flying. Very grateful to be able to return to beginnings.Re your aircraft musings, mine were similar and I decided on the Hornet.

Hi Hwansey. Sounds like we had similar beginnings. Qantas were not impressed with all my mustering time and I probably didn't fit into their mould either.

I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on the Hornet. I have always been impressed with what I have seen on the net about them. Does yours have the slats or the clean wing? What sort of cruise speed do you get out of it? Their website doesn't quote any performance figures from what I can see. Besides that they look how a bush plane should look to my eyes.