FlyingVizsla

You can take out a "Non-Flying" membership - about $100 which includes the magazine, voting rights etc. There's also a "subscription only" membership. It will be on the RAA site. If your health (or whatever improves) you can still return to flying with a BFR and rejoining with a pilot certificate. Hope you do!

Well, just sat through 85 + minutes of the four candidates. Apart from Michael Monk, I wasn't overly impressed with any others. Seems to have attracted Defence Force, Canberra based candidates. I thought about standing, but decided I wasn't well known and wouldn't have a hope, but at least I knew a lot more about recreational flying. Next "Meet the Candidates" will be 9th Sept.

Meet the candidates Election Candidate panel discussion - LIVE Wednesday 12 August 2020 at 7pm AEST As part of our election cycle this year RAAus is working to encourage more members to vote, and engage with candidates online. Whilst this idea was born out of lockdown, it is an ideal way for more members to “meet” potential directors and become more informed about those people elected to lead RAAus. RAAus encourages all members to submit questions prior to the live stream. Please email [email protected] The live stream will be independently moderated and will give all candidates an opportunity to openly engage. If you would like to learn more about the candidates you can view their election statements in the member portal, and in the August edition of Sport Pilot which will be landing in member's mailboxes soon. Also included in Sport Pilot are a ballot paper and return envelope. Voting in the RAAus 2020 Board Election closes on 25 September. There will be more opportunities for members to ask questions and engage with candidates throughout August. To view the live panel discussion this Wednesday 12 August at 7:00pm AEST, please click here for Facebook, or view on YouTube.

Log on to the RAA members' portal - go to Governance - 2020 Elections. There you will find the statements from all 4 candidates. They are: Michael Monk (standing for re-election) Andrew Scheiffers Simon Ozanne Danni Maynard

Just about anything that thrives in the sub-tropics - Mango (3 varieties), Lychee, bananas (3 varieties), Guava (6 varieties), plum (4), peach, grumachama, Brazilian cherry, jackfruit (2), jaboticaba, 5 star fruit (carambola), Lonergan, Ceylon cherry, Citrus - Lemons (4), lemonade, mandarin (3), oranges (3 - Cara Cara, navels, Valencias), Lime, Kafia Lime, figs, Sugar plum, Black Sapote, persimmon, pomegranate, loquat (3), apple (3), medlar, bunya nut, macadamia nut, Saba nut/ Malabar chestnut, pecan nut, dragon fruit (3), lily-pilly, Burdekin plum, Quandong, passionfruit, Giant Granadilla, Cape Gooseberry, strawberry, mulberry, grapes etc. I grow a lot of vegetables. We have 86 acres with 30 & 2.5 acre cropping areas and 2.5 acres of orchard & lots of sheds. We need lots of sheds because Mr FV thinks he is living another 400 years and has lined the jobs up accordingly. He is currently restoring a 1951 Oliver Clertac dozer, a Cat 112F grader, David Brown 885 Tractor, trying to rebuild the motorcycle he got smashed up on in 1991 (he breaks nearly every bone, every 30 years and is now half metal - but not worth $6million!). Plenty of planes to finish building, repairing, hangars needing repair, equipment, etc. He just loves junk and the house, sheds etc are chokkers with things that don't work, will never work (analogue mobiles & TVs), are surplus, have been dumped on us by his sons (car bodies, dead HWS, rusted guttering....) can't part with anything! My father would periodically take stock, and decide that "this stuff is costing too much", whereas Mr FV will gladly build another $20,000 shed to house $100 worth of rust and spent about $30k moving all the junk (about 60 trips truck & trailer over 5 years) to the new farm. Bless him!

Old K - I tried to PM a copy to you, but at 4MB the system says it is too large - it is a pdf. can't get any smaller. Sorry.

Not on-line. It is our local group's newsletter which goes out to members before a meeting with lots of great information, but most importantly, the whereabouts of the next meeting and competition (fruit cooking) - we meet at members' properties. With no meetings due to the lock-down and the age of most members, I have filled the spare pages with more info. Normally half of it would be reports of the last meeting, the winning recipes, the raffle, fruit tastings, etc. It is picked up by the National body and I sometimes see my articles re-printed in other clubs' newsletters. Now, if you could convince Ian to create a "Gardening for Sub-Tropical Pilots" on the forum, I could populate it with Bunya Nuts, Bananas, Cape Gooseberries, Dragon fruit, Saba Nut, soil testing etc. Sue

Mr FV is interested in engines - in planes, graders, dozers, trucks, chainsaws, motorcycles. Aircraft design, particularly early ultralights and his "Golden Age" of flight, between WWI & WWII I'm interested in planes and flying. I also do a lot of gardening / farming. I put out a bi-monthly "Rare Fruit Club" newsletter of 20 pages with articles on unusual native & exotic fruits (growing and eating) and associated gardening information. We have both been quiet as there has been no flying due to the lock-down. In fact we have been busier than "normal" due to the Pandemic with about 400 years work ahead of us.

Been years since I was there as a local. They were a bit cheesed off with people thinking it was a public strip for Carnarvon Gorge National Park and slapped a big landing fee on them. Fair enough, they maintained it for the Flying Doctor (retrieving injured tourists ...) and their own use. They have to insure it for these uses. Google has errors in road names - It is Carnarvon Gorge road, not O'Briens or Wyseby (don't know how they came about). There is an airstrip closer at Bandana Station, down Bandana Road, off Carnarvon Gorge Rd, but looking at the satellite image on Google Maps, it is looking a little overgrown. They operate a tourist attraction there and may welcome fly-in visitors. Let us know how it turns out, as I have not been there in years and may be way out of date. I worked on the roads there for the local Council (there's a camp at Ingalala) and did some flood damage work.

Three decades ago, young pilots would cry on my shoulder about how either they couldn't find a girlfriend who liked their flying or their present squeeze was demanding they give it up. Amused me that they never saw me as an option, maybe they saw me as 'one of the lads'. The only "offer" I got was from the LAME who saw the advantage in a partner who flew and owned a plane (ie could position aircraft for free and he could pinch the occasional instrument). This probably explains why I never married until my mid 50's - to a widowed aircraft builder & pilot who had a lot less hours than I had. Trouble is, he insists on doing all the flying and his hours are steadily creeping up..... Sue

Mr FV swears by oil sampling, but the way we do it is a waste of time. He was used to heavy machinery testing where the oil sample was analysed, compared with baselines, alerts were issued and advice on engine was routine. He didn't have to understand any of the chemical elements. We buy oil sampling kits through Caltex - about $43.50 which includes a replay paid satchel - and have about 4 floating around unused. He has done tests through Komatsu and Caltex. They all give readings for particles etc, but none give him any analysis. They are littered with "Unknown" "Diagnosis Not Applicable" "Interpretation not available" "refer results to an aircraft engineer" "results may not .. be acceptable" with blank graphs. He works on "tell 'em nothing, take 'en nowhere" and as a consequence they can't tell him anything. He relies on someone ringing him to alert him to a problem (as they did with heavy plant) but they won't, so he assumes everything is OK. Here's an example of an oil test. On the back are 6 blank graphs. 01081402.PDF

The ABC report https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-17/man-dies-light-plane-crash-near-nsw-aero-club/12257052 A man has died in a light plane crash near an aero club near Maitland in the NSW Hunter Region. Police were called to a property in Windella, about 50 kilometres from Newcastle, after 10:15am following reports a plane had crashed in a backyard. The man, who is yet to be identified, was the single occupant of the aircraft. Officers have established a crime scene. It's unclear whether the plane crashed taking off or landing but the wreckage is believed to be close to the Royal Newcastle Aero Club.

Opps! It is "AirNews" Forgot CASA's Flight Safety. The Winter edition is due out any day. They do love black ink and dark backgrounds.

AOPA went digital and is no longer a magazine format. You have to be a member and log in to the website, then trawl through a few unconnected articles. Ben Morgan does AOPA Sport monthly (last one was Feb 2020) and quarterly Student Pilot (last one was July-Sept 2019) & AOPA Pilot (last one Feb 2020). The monthly is a bit hit or miss and arrives when it does .... Nothing like the old print magazine. Kitplanes is good. I get the print magazine delivered, but also have access to the digital, and they send me Kitplanes Weekly (usually a collection of new and old articles). EAA from the USA is good. I get the print magazine, and for $10 extra I signed up Mr FV to a digital edition (we swapped) I read it on-line, then the magazine turns up. I get the Australian Women Pilots Association "Airwaves" quarterly - a members' magazine. These are the best of the print magazines.

Older people staying at home would have a good idea of who (if any) visited them. The app is more use with mobile younger people who may be quite vague about who and where they have been over the past week.

Here's the announcement from EAA We Don’t Gamble, We Need A Sure Thing AirVenture 2020 is officially canceled My fellow EAA’rs. It is May here in Wisconsin, and unfortunately like many of you across the country, we are still under a stay at home order through May 26. Normally, this is the month when we start our preflight planning for EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. By this time, we should have begun ramping up our entire site in preparation for our July convention. Volunteers from across the country and world would have descended on Oshkosh. Together they would have formed work parties, our suppliers would begin start setting up tents and infrastructure. Our EAA staff would be printing wrist bands, campers guides, programs and an assortment of EAA collateral as full-on AirVenture execution begins. But because of circumstances beyond our control, none of this can happen now. We cannot even get to the hangar so our preflight is left to watching the prog charts. While this certainly makes the ability to prepare for the event a scheduling problem, it does not preclude the bigger issue of predicting what will be the health guidelines in July. Right now, there are three phases that have been defined in Wisconsin as the recommended procedures. As I write this, we are not in Phase 1 yet. Phase 2 restricts gatherings to 50 people. Phase 3 allows for mass gathering with restrictions. Our convention attracts EAA members not only from the U.S. but around the world. Today we cannot predict when we will be at a point that our event meets the all clear Phase 3 milestone for mass gathering with restrictions. As your leader, I see no clear path to meet our own requirements to insure the health and safety expectations our organization demands for our employees, members, volunteers, exhibitors and attendees. That includes sanitization, separation and personal protection requirements. My conclusion is, like in any good flight planning, don’t take the risk. Therefore, I have no choice but to cancel AirVenture 2020. Together, we can come back stronger, safer and ready for AirVenture 2021 and create a memorable world class aviation event. Because of our dedicated and enthusiastic EAA members, our Association is strong. We know that at some point this storm will pass. And over the next 12 months we will continue to support all of you as we again, together, grow EAA in the Spirit of Aviation. Respectfully, alt=Jack J. Peltonhttp://pages.eaa.org/rs/910-SEU-073/images/signature-jack.jpg[/img] Jack J. Pelton Experimental Aircraft Association CEO and Chairman of the Board

Look under "Experimental" for the NON-certified version. Under $3k AUD including optional battery. My next adventure is to convince him to finally sign up for OzRunways. He is getting better at driving his iPad and 10 years ago would have flatly refused to have anything to do with tech that wasn't steam powered. He spent the weekend reading the User & installation Manuals and watching everything on YouTube, and decided today, that it was all he wanted and more. It arrives Friday.

The D1 was $1,475 AUD, which was $200 more than advertised; another thing that left a sour taste. The Supplier's advert on the RAA magazine didn't change for months after we rang and were told the price had gone up / advert was a misprint etc. Later found out this was an oft used ploy by this mob. So a charge of $450 USD (presently $750 AUD) plus freight and no assurances, even though they had seen this problem before. We were throwing good money away on outdated tech. The price of the G5, with optional battery back-up is on the Garmin, Pacific Aviation site. They have stock in Australia.

Well, it's been nearly 2 years since the Dynon D1 died. I had some correspondence with Dynon USA. It was "out of warranty" from the day we bought it as it had been superseded by the D2, but Mr FV wanted a D1. Initially they said they couldn't help, but later for $450 USD + freight they would "see what we can do". That went down to $300 USD, but no guarantee they would waste any effort on it. There was no indication of the outcome of the 2013 case with a similar problem. He's taken the D1 around to various "IT experts" who either wouldn't touch it or gave it back with a "sorry, can't help" Today he gave up and we have bought a Garmin G5 from Pacific Aviation - apart from reading the User Manual and watching lots of YouTube, a big selling point was Australian support. Hoping we don't need it. In a few months, we'll post more, that depends on when we can go flying again..... Meanwhile, anyone who thinks they can resurrect the D1 - happy to post it to you to keep. Many have tried ..... Sue

As someone in a position (and willing) to donate more than $50pa, I would not like to have my $$s listed. First it gives others the impression that things are fine, these guys are paying my fare. Secondly I prefer to support a site to the level that I appreciate it and can afford. I don't want people on limited means to think they are excluded. So my thoughts are to keep the First Class Member banner, have a Donate button, let us give what we want. Don't ever go to FarceBook. We won't go there.

My opinion - don't go to a subscription only model, as "guests" won't be here long enough to realise how valuable the site is. Keep the First Class Member as this gives users a cause to ask what it is and how can they donate. Let us then donate whatever we desire, whenever. I don't want to know where it went or tell others what I donated. If there is a deficiency then let us know. Another forum I patronise, has a closed forum for "trusted" members where we discuss the issues affecting the running of the forum. Some things are done by the Moderators here, which we do there - removing trolls, suspending users. Mostly discussing the stance we will take on posts like politics, global warming, software enhancements, competitions (you get a badge), moving posts to appropriate forums or amalgamating topics (so all about an incident is on the one thread), changing titles to more accurately reflect content, splitting out thread drift, allocating unanswered threads to one of our "experts". Maybe our First Class Members could form a similar group - not all would participate, and I only participate in the "Defenders" to the level of my expertise.

Perhaps we could sponsor a month on the calendar (to pay the server fees) - imagine the calendar with Mr FV as April? Events - May - bought to you by .... OK, Facty, et al. Avatars please, as I think the real thing (all over 70) might be a bit frightening. ? Several magazines we used to pay subscription to have ceased, so might as well support this site with the $$$s saved. Can't imagine life without Wreck Flying, build blogs, forum and the NES.

I would like to donate more. I support sites that I appreciate. I am not looking for "extra benefits" as I am happy with what I have (eg longer editing window). Perhaps a Gold Member (donates more than $50 pa.) and allow us to nominate a figure each year. Or just leave it as First Class and let us give more than $50.

I bought Mike Busch's books - Manifesto and Mike Busch on Engines. Expensive, but Mr FV agrees with most of what he says (or rather Mike agrees with Mr FV's view of the world). He liked his column in the EAA magazines. We have our differences of opinion on aircraft maintenance. Another EAA purchase was GA Airfoils - Harry Riblett 1987 (with update to 1996) - Harry would be 90 now. Apart from a lot of aerofoil data, Mr FV likes his anti-authority stance. In his mind NASA wasted their time testing a range of wing shapes, but, as I tried to explain, the Govt were the only ones with sufficient resources (funds, wind tunnels, scientists etc) to test to find the best for each application, so that industry didn't have to make expensive mistakes. A good book, if you are designing from scratch.

Long time since RAA sent me an invoice by snail mail. I get an SMS and email about a month out with invoice, then again closer to the date. I pay on-line through the members' portal and the receipt is emailed. The only time I get snail mail is when they have to post out a card. We have two memberships and three aircraft. Works well.