andy310r

A few in the SEQ area... Kooralbyn. Long runway (1200m?) but with high stuff at each threshold making a good chunk of it unusable. Often lots of roos. Can be sporting with a northerly wind due terrain. Landing a 310 there focuses the mind, but that's because of the speed you come over the (high) trees at the threshold! Agnes Water. Surrounded by trees and some terrain so wind can be an issue. Stayed the weekend in 1770. Nice spot. Archer Falls. Good condition, bit of a slope and best treated as one-way (and with a lot of respect) due to a big hill at the end of the strip. Privately owned, owner is awesome and makes good coffee! Dunwich (North Stradbroke isl). Often windy and a slope. Interesting terrain in the circuit. Hamilton Island. Actually this one's not difficult... I just messed it up by flicking what I thought was the autopilot master off on left base for rwy 14... instead turned the avionics off. Identical switches next to each other. Wondered why everything went dark, realised what an idiot I'd been, switched avionics back on, apologised to the tower for going quiet, then messed up a perfectly good landing by flat-spotting a tyre while braking. Don't even ask why I was braking on a runway that length as I don't have an answer 🤪. Spectacular scenery.

I transition from crab to slip (cross-controls) during the round-out. Some advocate for flying final in a slip. Each to their own but I find it not too comfortable especially for passengers, so I stay in the crab until I need to be slipping. I really struggled with it initially. Finally something 'clicked' and my brain figured out that a) my feets' job was to keep track parallel to runway (alignment); and b) the job for my hands was to maintain runway centreline (stop drift). Then the slip becomes really natural, and landing on one main first just happens. Of course as you slow down you need more control input (how much? Just enough!) and, once down, keep the upwind wing down with aileron. Do not let the wing lift. This is often forgotten. Some a/c forgive this to an extent but many don't. Gusty is always more work than a steady crosswind, but I'll never forget when I finally "got it". That doesn't mean all my landings are great - they aren't - perfect landings only happen when no-one's watching :) FWIW the rule-of-thumb I use for mentally calculating x-wind components is the clock model... Wind 15 degrees off runway heading = quarter crosswind component (picture a minute-hand at 15 mins: quarter of an hour) (e.g. 12 knots, 15 degrees off = 3 knot component) 30 degrees off = half (e.g. 12 knots, 30 degrees off = 6 knot component) 45 degrees off = three quarters (e.g. 12 knots, 45 degrees off = 9 knot component) 60 degrees off = all of it (12 knots across). Not exact but works for me.

I've never been taught (in GA) to gain altitude if I have excess speed. Just trim for best glide... that'll mean you maintain altitude as the speed washes off... after which you'll be trimmed for a steady hands-off descent. Gives time to figure out what you did wrong and/or eyeball a field. In a C206 I've flown it was pretty much "nose down right now" cos it was so draggy (underbelly baggage pod!). Pulling the prop to full coarse can significantly reduce drag and increase glide range. Especially noticeable in a 206 and 210 that I've flown. In an EFATO situation the first thing I do is push the nose over. I'm just not fast enough to care about further climb. By the time I've got the nose in a glide attitude I'll be pretty close to best glide speed anyway. Tangent... one examiner I had (I think it was my RPL test) showed me an interesting technique for forced landings. Lose power - trim for best glide. Hands off... steer with your feet. His rationale - as soon as you turn with the yoke/stick you'll inadvertently push or pull and vary from your glide speed. Turn with the rudder and this won't happen. Got to admit I wasn't fully comfortable with that but it's an interesting take on it. A rudder turn isn't as 'efficient' so I'd think that any benefit is scrubbed off anyway. Just my opinion... and I'm not an instructor or examiner!

Thanks guys for all your insights. It'll be nice flying something with more 'feel' again... I noticed when I flew the Citabria and Decathlon that you just feel more like an extension of the plane (or the other way around??)... definitely fly them more by feel than your average 182

Hey guys, I have a few random questions that I'm hoping someone can help with. I'm not new to flying but I am new to RA. To fly an RA-Aus registered aircraft I need to have an RPC, which I don't have. As I have a CPL, is this a case of 5 hours minimum with 1 hour solo (competency-permitting)? When I get the RPC will I automatically get controlled airspace and pax endorsements on the back of my CPL? Is it permitted to fly a suitably-equipped RAAus aircraft under the IFR? Finally, and probably most importantly, I've never flown anything this light before. I trained on C172 and usually fly 182/206/210/310… and the lightest I've flown is probably the Citabria. I'm expecting this to be somewhat different - any tips on what's likely to be challenging? Maybe also what you've experienced (good and bad!) when transitioning from heavier to light? Thinking of getting my first taste next week. Maybe in a Sling :) Thanks!

Ha quite possibly! It was an interesting flight. Quite a few fair-weather CU and somehow managed to miss all of them.

I haven't. I've heard the name though... will look him up! Thank you :)

thanks, I'll definitely get down there!

Thanks guys! My avatar photo was taken just last weekend somewhere near Gympie at 9,000' about an hour before sunset. Gorgeous flight.

...and I couldn't resist the opportunity to do this... touch-and-go at YBBN

I did a short ~1hr IFR flight on Saturday, to persuade the better half that life is smoother at 10,000'. She doesn't like flying with me much usually cos we're low and getting bumped about. Pretty amazing how much haze was below the cloud layer... wasn't obvious from the ground until you saw how clear it was above.

from a fellow newcomer

Hi guys! Great forum here :) Just saying hi, and a little history. Got the flying bug the first time I ever flew in 1984. Started working at a GA airfield in the UK (Doncaster) in my teens fuelling and shoving planes around. Some kind pilots took me up… bug firmly planted. In the mid-2000's I started PPL training in the UK out of Sherburn. Got through first solo and into solo navs before life got in the way and flying stopped :( Determined to fly again, I picked it back up in 2014 after I moved to Australia. What an amazing place to fly! Since then I've been solely GA… RPL->PPL->CPL and MECIR, mainly out of Redcliffe. Always looking for new places to visit especially in the southeast QLD area. I'm very fortunate to be part of a club with a few aircraft to choose from - C172, 182, 210, 310 etc. Something for most occasions although I am tempted to fly some RAAus stuff. I do however need to research rules and constraints so I don't do anything wrong :) Very tempted to build or acquire a low-and-slow taildragger too. I'm also inclined to do a flight instructor rating. I love learning and helping others to… whether I'd get much chance to use it is a different question. Anyway - "hello"! andy