Getting started - what paperwork do I need?

[lazerin]

Hey all,

 

I'm planning to start learning to fly in December and figured it's getting close enough to begin organising my paperwork. I rang up the flight school and they told me about the forms, medical and such that I need to fill out. It sounded easy enough at the time but as I go through the RA-Aus website and CASA, I'm getting a bit confused as to exactly which forms and what needs to be filled and sent away.

 

I'd really appreciate it if you guys could double check for me that I have everything I need so that once all these forms are completed, I can just walk into the flight school and start getting lessons.

 

Here's what I have so far:

 

From RA-Aus, I have the the Application for membership and Student Pilot Certificate.

 

From CASA, I have Form 1162 - Aviation Reference Number (ARN) Application.

 

Are these the only two forms that I need?

 

For the medical, my understanding is that I need the ARN? So I will have to wait for CASA to issue me an ARN prior to being able to go for a medical? When I do go, do I need to bring any other forms with me to the medical examiner?

 

Am I missing anything else?

 

Thanks all!

 

 

[sain]

Hi Lazarin,

 

You may have covered this somewhere else, but if your only planning on learning to fly RA-Aus aircraft then you'll only need the ra-aus one. You wont need the medical, unless you have a pre-existing condition that precludes you from holding a drivers license.

 

I'd recommend going for a few TIF flights though (if you havn't already), to get a feel for the instructors and aircraft available in your area. I think you are allowed 3 hrs of flight instruction before your required to hold a student certificate (at least for RA-AUS).

 

I don't know the requirements for the GA route.

 

Try and book your sessions for the early morning - december can get a little rough and bumpy during the day.

 

Best of luck and welcome aboard.

 

 

[lazerin]

Thanks, sain.

 

Sorry, I forgot to mention that I'm planning to learn at Parafield airport, which is a GA airport with controlled airspace. The flight school that I spoke to there (the only one there that does RAAus), said CASA requires a standard medical to fly raaus at parafield. I assume this is a class 2?

 

Haha, funny you should mention early morning, the flight school said the same thing.

 

 

[Guest basscheffers]

The easiest thing to do is just start flying and have them print out the forms at the school so you know you have the right ones - you don't require any of these things until you are ready to solo.

 

That said, yes, those should be the only two forms you need. The medical can take a few weeks to come through, so if you plan to do a lot of training in a really short time it's best to get it ASAP, otherwise you are months away.

 

Are you planning to go on to CPL? If so, you could decide to do a class 1 medical now to make sure you make the grade.

 

Good news is that the Sporty is back in action - I flew it for the first time in months last Tuesday. We went to Lower Light (very rough but long parachute strip) to do EFATO training so hopefully next Sunday if the weather is right and I keep flying like I have been doing so far I should solo, finger crossed!

 

Are you going to be flying on weekends? If so, we'll be competing for those morning hours! (I like to get the first flight on Saturday) It's been a bit tight with instructors of late as Sarah is off getting her helicopter CPL for another couple of weeks, which means only Mike is available for RAA training and he doesn't work every day and only one day on the weekend.

 

I am sure I'll bump into you there one of these days!

 

 

[lazerin]

Bass, you're a champ; to the rescue again!

 

Oh, I didn't realise I could start learning without having those forms done. I was under the impression that I needed the RA-Aus membership and student licence to actually learn. That's ok, I've sent them in anyway. No harm getting it done now I guess.

 

I don't think CPL is in my plans any time soon, I'll be stoked to have an ra-aus and cost is a deciding factor as well. Are you planning to work all up to your CPL and beyond?

 

Good the hear it's back!! Haha, I hope it wasn't you who dinged it up in the first place :P

 

I'm happy to leave the weekend sessions to you haha. I think I'll plan on doing 3 sessions a week, e.g. mon, wed, fri and have the weekend off. Hopefully that works out ok, and yes, I'm sure we'll bump into each other soon!

 

 

[Guest basscheffers]

Seeing as you seem to be starting young I thought it might have been the start of a career path. :) No CPL plans for me either - I will go PPL eventually, though. It'll be good to fly the family around some day.

 

The sporty got damaged while minding its own business on the the ground, actually. Someone pushed the wing of their much larger plane into the sporty's rudder.

 

 

[Guest Ginger]

Hi Lazerin,

 

Regarding the medical

 

For what its worth you may like to check out the Department of Transport form MR206 (... Replacement of Issue Application) and MR 712 Certificate of Fitness - Light Vehicle Drivers) forms for definitions of medical fitnes to drive vehicles.

 

Regarding Eysight & eyewear, if you havn't had your eyes checked for a while it might be a good idea to do so. Obviously you need excellent distance vision as well as being able to focus on all the instruments including those on the right side of the panel. Cosideration needs to be taken over antiglare. I hope he doesnt mind me saying this but think Rocko is submitting an article in Pacific Flyer on the subject.

 

 

[lazerin]

Hey Ginger, thanks for the info. I'm pretty healthy really, I don't expect to encounter any problems with my medical (fingers crossed). I do have slight myopia though but my vision is fine with corrective contact lenses or glasses. I'll check out those documents anyway though.