KRviator Posted October 5, 2021 Posted October 5, 2021 That's something that seems to be a huge difference between flying in Oz vs the USA - that "last mile" from the airport. In Oz, you land, refuel yourself, tie down and then either walk, get a ride with the hotel owner, or a taxi (if you're lucky the town has them) from the airport. In the US, you land, are marshalled into a parking spot next to a G5, the lineboy (sorry, line-LGBTQI-person these days) comes out and offers to carry your bags to the golf cart, refuels your bugsmasher and there'll be a courtesy car to take you in to town, and if you're lucky, they might even put your plane in a hangar for the night. Sure, self-serve AvGas is a thing there too, but there are actual businesses' in the US who cater to travelling GA pilots and their passengers. In Oz, they are only available at the likes of International airports and if you rock up in a '172, you're probably going to et laughed at. I've also not heard of (m)any airports in Oz that allow under-wing camping. There are a few, private, ones that do, but they are few and far between.
Ian Posted October 5, 2021 Posted October 5, 2021 Has anyone used an electric bike/scooter or similar to get to/from the airport?
facthunter Posted October 5, 2021 Posted October 5, 2021 I'm sure it's been done. Folding pushbike etc. Might get you fit but who'd want to ride some crappy thing 15Km or so? Planes land right at Roadhouses on the Nullabour if you don't mind a lot of dust. Nev
turboplanner Posted October 5, 2021 Posted October 5, 2021 7 minutes ago, facthunter said: I'm sure it's been done. Folding pushbike etc. Might get you fit but who'd want to ride some crappy thing 15Km or so? Planes land right at Roadhouses on the Nullabour if you don't mind a lot of dust. Nev I bought a couple of folding bikes, but they took up too much space. It was better to prearrange for someone to pick you up, or phone the local taxi and tell him you'll circle over the town. For holidays, at least you can pick your destinations based on proximity of the strip to the town. 1
facthunter Posted October 5, 2021 Posted October 5, 2021 I wrote a message and dropped it in a cherry orchard at the feet of the owner. Another time I circled a persons house and when he came out I was able to yell instructions to him to come to the airport. Don't think I'd do that today. With mobiles who needs to? Nev 2
spacesailor Posted October 6, 2021 Posted October 6, 2021 Some of those Nullabour roadhouses have their own airstrip. spacesailor
RossK Posted October 6, 2021 Posted October 6, 2021 (edited) 18 hours ago, Ian said: Has anyone used an electric bike/scooter or similar to get to/from the airport? The extra Mile -Stefan Drury The problem for our RAA craft is weight, good folding bikes are typically 12-15kg each. most RAA planes are 25-40kg of baggage max. Edited October 6, 2021 by RossK 1
turboplanner Posted October 6, 2021 Posted October 6, 2021 1 hour ago, spacesailor said: Some of those Nullabour roadhouses have their own airstrip. spacesailor Some don't and some do but people try to use the highway edges or Road Train Parks. Someone got caught a couple of years ago when he screwed up a take off and the accident was investigated. The Nullabor is a place to stay away from for most RA aircraft. With the type of prevailing winds and a Drifter with cruise speed of 50 < 65 kt depending on the model you could be grinding away for several days at a True Airspeed of ten knots with the possibility of having to put it down on the dirt track, walk over to the road and hitch a ride to the nearest Roadhouse 150 km away. Butter to truck it over and enjoy the Southwest.
FlyBoy1960 Posted October 6, 2021 Posted October 6, 2021 Not everyone flies a 50 knot aircraft anymore. They don't even even make engines for then any longer.
Old Koreelah Posted October 6, 2021 Posted October 6, 2021 2 hours ago, RossK said: The extra Mile -Stefan Drury The problem for our RAA craft is weight, good folding bikes are typically 12-15kg each. most RAA planes are 25-40kg of baggage max. The best design I’ve seen is the YikeBike, designed and built in Christchurch, NZ. Not cheap, but one model is about 10kg. I saw one at NatFly. http://www.yikebike.com 1
NT5224 Posted October 6, 2021 Posted October 6, 2021 1 hour ago, Old Koreelah said: The best design I’ve seen is the YikeBike, designed and built in Christchurch, NZ. Not cheap, but one model is about 10kg. I saw one at NatFly. http://www.yikebike.com Who cares about the hefty price tag when you can look THAT cool! 🤣 It kinda looks like an self -propelled dunny seat I might pass.... Alan 1
KRviator Posted October 6, 2021 Posted October 6, 2021 I brought one of those cheap Aldi folding bikes years ago for the RV, but have never bothered to put it in the plane beyond initial tests - I just CBF flying somewhere that actually needs it yet - and truth be told, would probably stump up the $$ for an electric scooter these days, or even a petrol powered one - just drain a litre from the sump after landing and you're good to go, without the risk of a battery fire mid flight. The bike does work well after dropping the car into town for a service or the like though. 1
gareth lacey Posted October 6, 2021 Posted October 6, 2021 when i joined this forum there were quite a few builders contributing,sadly some have passed and there now seems to be a core that are regular contibuters, however home/experimental(other than RV) seems to have lost interest, i am building again and look for as much info as i can gleen , whatever happened to Daffyd Llewellyn? he had a lot of cred here, is homebuil;ding dying in Aus? 2
KRviator Posted October 6, 2021 Posted October 6, 2021 Truth be told, I found much better intel on the Vans Forums than RF during my build, as not only is it airframe specific, but the sheer volume of RV builders have cobbled together just about every possible airframe/engine/avionicky combination imaginable, and for any problems you encounter, you can almost be guaranteed that someone, somewhere has posted it before. That's not to say RF doesn't have its' place, but for homebuilders, the type clubs/sites/forums are likely a better resource. 2
FlyBoy1960 Posted October 6, 2021 Posted October 6, 2021 2 hours ago, Old Koreelah said: The best design I’ve seen is the YikeBike, designed and built in Christchurch, NZ. Not cheap, but one model is about 10kg. I saw one at NatFly. http://www.yikebike.com I have one for sale, make an offer. Done about 10 kms only
jackc Posted October 6, 2021 Posted October 6, 2021 7 hours ago, spacesailor said: Some of those Nullabour roadhouses have their own airstrip. spacesailor Nullarbor Roadhouse has runway that used to be the driveway in off the highway years ago to the old original roadhouse, I worked there back in ‘76.
rgmwa Posted October 6, 2021 Posted October 6, 2021 1 hour ago, gareth lacey said: Is homebuilding dying in Aus? Out of interest, I just looked up the first flight records for the Sport Aircraft Builders' Club (SABC) based at Serpentine in WA. The first recorded homebuilt to fly was in 1967 (Jodel). The number of first flights for each decade since then are: 1970-1979 - 22 1980-1989 - 20 1990-1999 - 51 2000-2009 - 40 2010-2019 - 30 In 2020 there were 5 and from memory there have been another 3 or 4 this year. Obviously membership has also grown since the early days, and there are currently about 350 members. Quite a few of these are just social or associate members, so there are probably around 250-280 full members. As with most other flying clubs the average age of members doesn't seem to be getting any younger so the long term trend may be downhill. However, from those figures at least, while the 90's obviously saw the greatest activity, the current numbers are still quite respectable. Demand for hangar space is also high, so that's a good sign.
facthunter Posted October 6, 2021 Posted October 6, 2021 Most builds take longer than expected. The commencement for those would be years ago in many cases.. Nev
rgmwa Posted October 6, 2021 Posted October 6, 2021 2 minutes ago, facthunter said: Most builds take longer than expected. The commencement for those would be years ago in many cases.. Nev The record at SABC was either 34 or 39 years for a Piel Super Diamant. First flew in 2016. 1
pmccarthy Posted October 6, 2021 Posted October 6, 2021 If I was ever going to build it would be this. 1 1
jackc Posted October 6, 2021 Posted October 6, 2021 Unfortunately I am in the position that I cannot build……I have little time left on this earth and want use some of it to fly with….before I can’t 😞 1
facthunter Posted October 7, 2021 Posted October 7, 2021 The Ryan ST is a very pretty aeroplane. Supercharged Menasco "Pirate" engine. good flick roller delicate U/C easily "bent".I was close to buying AHD in the 60's It had belonged to an Instructor of mine. Like all/ most of them it probably went back to the states and they became extremely"pricey". Many here came from Indonesia and had floats ST-(M) and ere converted to wheels. The total number would be low. Had a very distinctive engine note when doing aeros. I think one was used for skywriting with Fred Hoinville? Nev 1
onetrack Posted October 7, 2021 Posted October 7, 2021 There were 1568 Ryan ST's built - but seeing as they were produced from 1934, attrition has probably reduced their numbers to a very low level today.
facthunter Posted October 7, 2021 Posted October 7, 2021 I should have put "in Australia". As a trainer they suffered a few landing gear and engine mishaps. Geared supercharger with a fixed pitch prop. You were best to only give full throttle with a bit of forward speed. The Menasco engine had the valve gear all out in the open and had to be greased regularly. The wing was "Wire" braced (airfoil sectioned with threaded ends) and there may have been one or two wing failures. Nev 1
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