FlyingVizsla

We get two magazines to the same address. I am happy to go digital, but my husband likes the feel of glossy paper. Now he says he does not want the printed magazine. We are getting the important bits by email and off the RAA website and pictures of the fly-ins on this forum. The magazine was started to keep members informed about AUF matters, but then grew to being a glossy magazine that costs thousands of dollars to print and post. The survey shows that most respondents are not willing to pay the full cost, which is going up again as Australia Post fees increase and service decreases. Pilot Certificate holders have to remain members to keep flying, but some of the Non-Flying members may rethink their $100 as the magazine is the only tangible benefit. I gather take-up of the print magazine has been slow, given the offer of 6 months bonus for the first 1,000 subscribers. Don't shoot Andy - it was a Board decision and there are 12 others in this. Sue

Sorry about the resignation, as I think you were good value. Being an unpaid Board member on something the size and importance of RAA certainly takes it out of you - particularly if you want to do a good job of it. I really appreciated your posts. I am also looking for work and living off savings, so I know the pressures that brings, particularly as I wanted to work until I decided to retire, rather than have the job finish prematurely. Family must come first. All the best for the future! Sue

Some pictures: http://www.maitlandmercury.com.au/story/3099548/lovedale-cafe-owner-tells-of-fatal-plane-crash-photos/?cs=171#slide=12

My personal thoughts are that, should RAA cease, a commercial organisation would take over and charge what they want, or what the market will bear, as a monopoly. They could pick up the existing staff & structure. I don't think CASA would be keen on ultralights becoming VH en masse any more than SAAA would be keen on administering them and the FTFs. Sue

Andy, On the farm we get (if we are lucky) one bar on the mobile, so poor signal from 8km (as the crow flies) on the other side of the hills. Telstra shop said they would never allow us to have ADSL on our landline (we went through TPG before we got that advice). At Springsure we are within 1-2km of the exchange, but our copper wire is woeful. It was to be replaced with the wireless NBN last year, but change of Govt and we missed out to more populated areas. Doubt it will be upgraded now. Not eligible for satellite on the farm (even though both Telstra services - mobile and landline - are too slow), Telstra still claims the mobile service is "city speeds". I go to town with the dongle to get service. Sue

Tried the idea of a larger aerial, however we were advised that it would not boost the signal, just pick it up (as we do now) and make it available inside the house, or where ever we set up the base unit, so we can enjoy a weak signal without being confined to a small space. The tower is simply too far away. Telstra based their coverage on a tower that does not exist (yet). In response to constant complaints, they said there was a software glitch in it and after we repeatedly said it did not exist, they finally admitted it had not been built. Our tower is about 8km away with the signal coming through a gap in the hills. At Springsure the signal drops out 5km out of town and doesn't re-emerge until 170km later down the Highway to Tambo, and then only in isolated spots. The rural areas are still way behind the rest of the country. Without the infrastructure, there is no other way to fix it. IridiumGo is $850USD to buy, $50/month and $1.50 per minute for data (they say it is not ADSL speed). Try doing Windows & software updates on that.

Internet is very slow here on the farm (ADSL2 on landline) The worst - Test run on [*06/04/2015*] @ [*11:09 AM*], Your download speed is [*1 KB/s*] (0 MB/s), The best - Test run on [*18/02/2015*] @ [*09:48 AM*], Your download speed is [*45 KB/s*] (0.04 MB/s), On the Telstra mobile broadband - Best ever - Test run on 01/01/2015 @ 08:26 AM, Your download speed is [*31 KB/s*] (0.03 MB/s) The worst - being so slow it can't run the speed test. We are not eligible for satellite because (according to Telstra), their mobile signal is similar to city speeds, and according to their coverage map, we should have good coverage inside and outside our house and all over the property. Reality is the signal is only in a narrow band where you have to be outside on the upper deck of our highset house to get one bar. Move 2 steps and the signal is lost. Telstra say they would not have allowed us an ADSL connection on our landline because of the distance from the exchange. NBN is not coming to our neck of the woods in the next 5 years. I travel to town to get Telstra's mobile network and do most of my downloading and surfing from there. So a 35MB pdf would take 15 minutes to 9.7hrs on the landline. I can wait.

You could consider lime or cement stabilisation (a common practice in low-cost road construction with poor cohesive soils). I have done both in Western Qld. Lime is not the agricultural variety, it is quicklime or hydrated lime. It only works with certain soils, usually reactive clays (clays swell and shrink/crack when wet & dry). A soil lab can test a sample to tell you if it will work. Lime takes time (months) to reach its full strength but that is weighed against the cost and efficiency of construction. Read about it here http://www.auststab.com.au/technotes/TNote01.pdf Cement works with nearly anything I have come across. A soil lab can test to determine the % for target strength, but from my experience 1.5% - 2.5% will get you a road surface suitable for Heavy Vehicles and traffic volumes for a minor rural highway. The cement powder is spread over the area to be treated, then mixed in to your calculated depth - for road construction that is 120mm deep. Just add water - then the orchestra cranks up - mix, roll, roll, grade, roll, trim as quickly as possible (don't leave it till next weekend) as the chemical reaction starts with water (provided it was dry when spread) and it will set like - well concrete - but not as hard. Read about it here http://www.auststab.com.au/technotes/TNote05.pdf You can construct an all-weather road down the middle of you paddock - which you would need in wet weather for the tractor and other "essential transport" and you may be able to do it using existing farm equipment - spreader, tynes, spray tanks, towed roller etc. I get the stuff in tankers, but it does come in one tonne bags. If you can, try to get it level and a small slope to allow water to run off, and pay attention to drainage. Sue

Now the big question:- Why was the magazine survey completely ignored? - KP When was it and what were the results? If you know, please tell. I seem to remember criticism that AUF/RAA were just stockpiling money (ie overcharging members for services) which led to this "reserve". I also remember that our fees went up under SR & ST's administration. The level of compliance went down. The magazine was outsourced. Members were asking "why?" The organisation should have been keeping abreast of 'best practice' to ensure compliance and to keep costs down. Instead it was neglected and cost us a lot in extra wages etc to get back to compliance. Remember all those failed audits that we didn't hear about? Some of the language from SR on this forum was strident - remember the remark about 'the real Major'? I can see frustration, and I can understand some people upset about having to pay for a print magazine, but is it just a resistance to change, or is there a valid reason. I am on a very slow internet connection, yet I am happy to get an emailed PDF (it may take some time to download) and I can print & bind a copy for my husband, which we can then leave at the clinic or hangar. I think this Board is doing a very good job with what they inherited. Rego & Pilot Certs are turning around promptly. Costs centres are being dissected much better than they had been previously. One thing I will give SR, is that he started to get costs allocated to rough cost centres, but until now, no one could say how much each function cost (Ops, Tech, Mag, etc), all they could say was Wages & Salaries cost this much.

I have used a sheet of greenish plastic from Ian's shop http://www.savemoreonline.com.au/home-and-garden/home/other-home-products/sun-screen/ Not a permanent solution, as it is removable, but it stays in place with static electricity; works on my C152 windscreen and also car and home windows. A wipe or wash, followed by a rub keeps it sticking reliably. A good cheap solution. Sue

The "glider" Picture: Wundowie police Picture: Seven News Story at https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/27465511/light-plane-crashes-near-toodyay/

An update: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-30/light-plane-crashes-in-toodyay/6433260 An ultra light plane has crashed near Toodyay, east of Perth, with its pilot taken to hospital after calling police. The light aircraft crashed in a paddock off Hall Road in Nunile, in WA's Wheatbelt, before 7:40am, police said. The 48-year-old male was taken to Northam Hospital in a serious condition, authorities said, and would be transferred to Royal Perth Hospital by the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Fire and ambulance crews were also called to the scene. Toodyay farmer Frank Panizza, who went to the site of the crash, said he saw the pilot be put into an ambulance. "He's been talking and he's been awake most of the time and he was actually able to make the call to police after he crashed," he said. "There's a large ambulance and police and rescue contingent here and he's being loaded into the ambulance as we speak and he'll be making his way to hospital. "It appears he's hit powerlines. The aircraft is actually only about 30 metres away from the bottom of the powerlines where they go across to the next-door neighbour's paddock."

From the ABC News A light plane has crashed near Toodyay, east of Perth. Fire and ambulance crews are at the scene, which authorities say is east of Coondle in WA's Wheatbelt. One person was on board the plane and is being treated by St John ambulance staff. The extent of the person's injuries is not yet known. It is believed the aircraft crashed in a paddock about 8:00am.

I would like to see us carrying an impact activated device. Some of the expensive searches could have been avoided if one had been carried. Besides the tax payer's funds, there is also the stress on family and friends as the days drag on and a less favourable outcome if injuries are involved. Some examples of "failure" of ELT/PLB:- The Dragon Rapide - they were eventually found by mobile phone location. This Gympie accident where it didn't activate on impact. An old work-mate at Emerald - he & the other pilot left theirs in the car, located 3 days later using the mobile, both deceased. My old ELT (now redundant 121 feq) was impact activated, my new PLB is not. It relies on me being able to activate it. As almost all my flying has been in designated remote areas I am in the habit of leaving a Flight Note before departure and confirming my arrival. Even with that, it would resolve a lot of issues if ASMA could home in on a beacon.

In regards to leaving a Flight Note - I did some research, and you are right, for some private VFR flights the Flight Note is only RECOMMENDED. I started in the era where we had to lodge a flight plan and SAR, then it became flight note with a responsible person, now that's only if you are planning: Over-water flights In Designated Remote Areas At night proceeding beyond 120NM from the aerodrome of departure You need SARTIME or FLIGHT NOTE All other operations VFR AWK & PVT SARTIME, FLIGHT NOTE or NO NOTIFICATION Source AirServices, AIP ENR 1.10 - 6 to 7 (page number) 2.20 & 2.21 Personally I think you would be mad not to leave a Flight Note with someone. If hubby & I disappeared it might be a few days before anyone missed us. The Flight Note is pretty flexible, even though there is a recommended form. Simply tell someone where you are going and "if I am not back by ... start looking." Years back AUF/RAA issued us all with a fridge magnet card on which you wrote details of your plane, make, colour etc in permanent marker, and where you were going, ETA, mobile, PLB, destination phone etc in whiteboard marker. Leave that with someone who cares. If you are late they can at least make a few phone calls and hand the information on to searchers before the trail goes cold. Sue

I am not advocating that Spot or anything be mandatory; I am encouraging people to arm themselves with something "just in case" to make the search easier. We are required to leave a flight note with a responsible person (or lodge one or do the SAR thing). That may not happen with a great deal of accuracy due to the recreational nature of our flying - diverting to have a look at an interesting feature, sitting out the weather, hung by the tongue in a mate's hangar etc. Husband and I fly together, if anything happens the next of kin and person with the best knowledge has gone too. This accident has got me thinking about our situation. The PLB is peace of mind, but only if we are able to activate it. Perhaps someone could research an article for Sport Pilot on the options out there, how they work and what they cost. RAA might be able to do a "members only" deal with a supplier or two. ATSB / AMSA may have some info too.

This is the official weather from the BOM about half an hour before take off. This is Saturday morning 9am 18 April 2015. I don't know if the weather in Hervey Bay on Monday 20th was a factor - certainly the deteriorating weather did make the search harder. The crash site was 39km from take off, approx 10-15mins flying time. There doesn't seem to be evidence of squalls, the highest gusts were in the afternoons; only one station does cloud observations - it was overcast at the time. Gympie airport (take off point) and two others around the crash site:- Gympie airport at 9am 22.2 degrees 82% Relative Humidity Winds W 2km/h Mean Sea Level Pressure 1022.4 h/Pa Gayndah airport 9am 24.5 degrees 68% RH, Winds E 11km/hr MSLP 1021.6 Maryborough airport 9am 23.1 degrees 82% RH, Winds SE 11km/hr MSLP 1021.6 Cloud 7/8th The direct track Gympie airport to Dululu Gliding Field is approx 320 degrees NW. The wreckage was found 6km NW of Woolooga which puts it close to track (if reports are correct). If there was a diversion to Eidsvold, Woolooga might have been the turning point. Regardless, we have lost a remarkable man, and with him a wealth of knowledge, encouragement and support.

At the time, I was on the farm 44km NE from the crash site. We were doing weather dependent work (herbicides etc) so keeping a close eye on the BOM radar. There were light showers (white & light blue) on the radar and we received only a 'trace' in the gauge for that day. I remember hearing a plane or two in the distance, but I couldn't tell you what time, and I doubt now that I heard the J258. Winds were close to calm that morning (0-2.5knots NE), Relative Humidity was 65-85%, visibility was good. These are local observations from our paddock. Unfortunately I did not get an aviation forecast for that day. This was a very experienced pilot, aircraft builder and designer, who has erred on the side of caution before. He allowed plenty of time to get to his destination, he sent a text with his ETA shortly after take off (according to media reports), he was familiar with the route. There are many explanations that don't include pilot error. Let's wait for the evidence to be gathered first. One issue we should be looking at concerns the ELT or PLB or what-ever. My old ELT was armed to activate in an impact. His beacon did not activate, so I wonder if we should be looking at recommending those that do, or a system of activation for those that need manual activation? Should we invest in something like "Spot" to trace our movements when flying? Sue

I am a Scout leader. The Scout magazine was replaced with an on-line version some years ago (73 months). The local Group prints it out for those without internet, or unwilling to read on-line which is very few now. I get an email to say it is now available, and have to go to their site. From this month they will be splitting it into a streamlined version and a more comprehensive version. It will also be attached to the email, thus eliminating one further step to access. Maybe this is the way to go with Sport Pilot. I know I read attachments straight away and detach & save if it looks worthwhile, or I want to read it later. Having to go to another site (like Scouts) had meant I missed the odd issue. We also use Drop Box to share resources between Troops and post our programs and forms to the District Commissioner. The other format is like Flight Safety, where you have a list of articles and you click to bring up the article on its own (not very good for advertisers who want their content viewed along side), but I probably miss some good stuff because I don't check often and cherry pick what I want to read from the title. Sue

It took over half an hour, maybe even an hour, to fully load up for me on my verrrryyyy slooooow ADSL2 landline (Your line speed is 11 kbps 0.01 Mbps; your download speed is 1 KB/s 0 MB/s). However, once the first few pages had loaded (after a few rounds of Solitaire) I started reading and that kept pace with the buffering. I haven't worked out the best format to read; one page on screen has the text too small to read, part pages make navigating down harder - the > takes you to the top of the next rather than further down. Not the very best format - the magazine is better - but with practice it will be doable. My husband and I are both members, so we got 2 magazines. I am happy to go digital to save the $$$s and the trees. Only one criticism - pictures that span two pages - we don't get to see the whole picture, so it loses some of the graphical impact of the printed version. Similar with graphical elements such as Middo's Life Membership with the images spanning the two page spread. On line means you can zoom in on pictures and text. I think I would prefer a pdf as I am more familiar with that in Adobe. Provided I get an email prompt that it is available, I think I will read it. My husband prefers the print magazine. If he will pay the increased subscription is another undecided issue. Sue

The wreckage was found on Monday afternoon, the body is still missing, but it is assumed he could not have survived the crash. My sincere apologies to the family & friends who are waiting and hoping against hope that he somehow survived. In due course we will have closure, one way or the other.

Condolences to friends and family. For their sake, I hope they get an answer to "What happened?" Sue

If you go to Kitplanes, Completions, his Jab 258 is there from 2010 or 2011. Can't post a link as my mobile broadband is Sooo Slooow, insufficient to run a speed test at 70kb. It is a credit to Ian that Rec Fly is one of the few sites that works at that speed. Sue

Sorry Rick, I have posted the article below as it names both the pilot and plane, which will remove some of the speculation. Unfortunately they also mention Jab engine problems. I was out on the farm, but didn't really pay much attention to the aircraft in the distance. The pilot has been named here: http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/still-no-sign-of-light-plane-that-left-gympie-on-saturday-morning/story-fnn8dlfs-1227310272005 Hoping for a speedy resolution. Sue

Pilot Seminars Safe Skies for all CASA Aviation Safety Advisors will be delivering a new series of AvSafety seminars in 2015. The seminars will include: Question and Answers regarding Licensing regulations Ageing Aircraft Management Program Airservices Australia safety issues - communicating with ATC and the Navaid Rationalisation program ATSB issues – How to access Safetywatch and other safety related material from the ATSB website BOM issues – Graphical Area forecast and TAF review CASA Educational Resources – A summary of the latest products Please note that due to time constraints, not every topic may be covered at every seminar. CASA Aviation Safety Advisors will liaise with local industry and your club to discuss the appropriate topics for the area. If you would like to have input to this, please contact your local Aviation Safety Advisor to discuss. The seminars are an opportunity for industry to interact with CASA, discuss local issues and ask questions of the regulator. During May seminars are being held in: Location Date Register Bairnsdale Wednesday 27th May Broome Wednesday 20th May Cessnock Wednesday 27th May Darwin Thursday 7th May Derby Thursday 21st May Geraldton Wednesday 27th May Gympie Wednesday 6th May Jandakot Wednesday 20th May Kununurra Thursday 28th May Latrobe Valley Tuesday 26th May Maryborough Thursday 7th May Mudgee Tuesday 26th May Rockhampton Wednesday 13th May The presentations are based around the content of the CASA website. Please feel free to bring your tablet or smartphone to follow the information live. Engineer seminars Engineering - Maintain your knowledge Maintain your engineering safety knowledge by attending a specifically tailored engineering seminar. The seminar will include the latest information on Part 66 LAME licensing including discussions on certification and small aircraft licensing, PART 145 phase 2 for maintenance organisations, PART 64 Taxiing and aeronautical radio operations, a look at Human Factors for Engineers, Ageing Aircraft and CASA resources on the web. These seminars will provide engineering staff and organisations with the opportunity to hear up to date information regarding regulation change, find out how to stay informed and ask questions relating to these topics. During May seminars will be held in: Location Date Register Adelaide Thursday 14th May Broome Tuesday 19th May Kununurra Wednesday 27th May Maryborough Thursday 7th May Parafield Wednesday 13th May Toowoomba Wednesday 20th May For a list of all seminars and for more information please go to www.casa.gov.au/avsafety. Help make the skies safe for all, attend a CASA AvSafety seminar in 2015.