kaz3g

Thanks John I never have got used to the ridiculous way in which they write these as a prohibition but with a later exception. Why they don't put it together in one reg like they used to I'm dashed if I know... 7.2 In spite of the limit of 25 nautical miles mentioned in subparagraph 7.1 ©, an aeroplane to which that limit would otherwise apply may be flown between Tasmania and mainland Australia, in either direction, by a longer route if taking advantage of safer weather conditions. Now, without being a pedant, I wonder how they apply the new condition of "safer weather conditions"? If the conditions are the same whether flying route A or route B, I guess you can't go. Kaz

Two other things I noticed. The requirement to have an ELT or PLB for flights greater than 50 NM The maximum overwater distance is 25 NM (which might create a problem for crossing Bass Strait). Kaz

Frank, I went back and looked again and found a later version which says: 8.4 An aeroplane, to which this Order applies, may only be flown at a height of 5 000 feet above mean sea level or higher if it is equipped with serviceable radiotelephone equipment and the pilot is qualified to use it. (With a maximum of 10,000' which, for practical purposes is 9500') This was at https://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2015C00091 Sorry for the misinfo. It would be nice if they made it a little easier to search for these things on the Comlaw site. Kaz

I hope so, Frank. It's the version that came up when I searched for it on Comlaw. Kaz

5.1 spells out that 5000 or higher but below 10000 and only if over land or sea and unable to glide clear from lower height and only if radio equipped and only in class G or E. Kaz

I did my aeros including spins with Sharpie in 8KCAB VH-BIK IN THE MID-80's. You would remember it well. Kaz

Thanks Bruce for your kind response. There are many problems in Yuendemu today and Family Violence is at the forefront. My mate got involved with a woman of the wrong skin group (wrong way) and was speared in the thigh as punishment. The women gave him a pasting with null nullas, too. Then his relative killed someone in a fight and my mate is now part of the payback. They'll kill him if he returns. Same family as the footballer. Grog was a huge problem in WA when I was there and I saw the results of some brutal bashings in Carnarvon and Meeka. It's wonderful that there are now numerous dry communities to provide a barrier from the towns, but the effect is diluted by those who transition between one and the other. The bottom "paddock" of my old place is now the home of the Burrungaurrah community http://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/park/mt-augustus which is dry but the WA Govt is apparently intent on closing it and a number of others to reduce costs. I fear they have their collective heads in the sand. Kaz

Hi Bruce You only have to go as far as Alice Springs to see how a proud and capable race, able to survive in the desert with only primitive tools was "civilised" by the English and how they live today. The Lutherans at Hermannsburg did provide a level of protection for the Anunga from predominantly English white settlers although they also adopted a very patriarchal style of management that broke down the old lore and left the way open for the alcohol abuse and family violence that is rife in the communities today. I have killing boomerangs, spears and beads and other artefacts my dad collected along with a Batterbee watercolour all from Hermannsburg in the early 40's when he was there. I spent time up there in the late 80's and have been back a few times since. I also lived in the Upper Gascoyne in WA in the 70's. The red dirt seems to affect your blood. I have a portrait of the man known as One Pound Jimmy hanging in my bedroom. It's a pastel on black velvet and was left to me by my dad who spent a lot of time in the NT during and after the war. It shows a man of magnificent physique proud of his culture and it sends me back in time whenever I look at it.. Gwoja Tjungarrayi was one of a handful of Warlpiri who survived a massacre carried out by squatters led by a police officer after some cattle were speared. Men, women and children were shot in their hundreds and no-one was ever made accountable. Jimmy's great nephew is an old mate of mine and, in the best oral tradition, he speaks of the massacre as the "killing times". http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/hindsight/the-two-lives-of-one-pound-jimmy/2974226 Greg, my mate, has lived over in Victoria for a number of years now but his knowledge of his country and his attachment to it is amazing. I showed him the WAC chart for the Yuendemu area and he immediately pointed out where I could find water. If you have been there you will know just how precious such knowledge might be. I have several times seen and heard folks here in my home town making it clear that they think of him as a lesser person because of his colour and Aboriginal English. Yet he speaks 5 languages and English is his third. If you have tried to learn an Aboriginal language you will understand his is no mean feat. As far as the Aboriginal people not knowing to wash their eyes to avoid trachoma and sandy blight, we ought to remember that surgeons were still heaping shit on Joseph Lister in the 1880's when he tried to get them to wash their hands after using the lavatory and between operations. This was the same period when the missionaries arrived on the Finke. It took us a long time to get clever about infection, too. Kaz

http://www.yorkshire-aircraft.co.uk/aircraft/planes/ryedale/3030.html RNAS to RAF and two World Wars..the Mad Major made his mark, too. Kaz

Austers had a number of different modifications to landing gear, including skis and floats so they could be used to map Antarctica. Some of these mods were trialled at Point Cook. http://austerhg.org/auster_mags/Auster%20News%20Volume%204%20No%2010.pdf Kaz

https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1949/1949%20-%200430.PDF This historical account of the Goodyear conversion for Austers is a salute to the ingenuity in aviation that came out of WWII. Kaz

Would it be Lakeside, Gareth?

I landed here to visit a client staying in the community you can just make out in the green patch near the top, mid-left of the photo. The buildings in the foreground are a boarding school and the airstrip was put in to give them an emergency evacuation capacity. This was the most exciting "outreach" I have done as a lawyer because there had been quite a bit of rain and the red clay of the narrow landing area was very greasy. The dark vegetation line running left to right across the image is the Bogan River. Kaz

There was a prang there a month or two ago...? Kaz

It seems to me the burger story was told just to feed prejudice. Kaz

Lovely little aeroplane that will give you lots of enjoyment. Congratu.ations. Kaz

A positive test for alcohol in the DAMP regs is greater than 0.02%. A person must not continue to perform a Safety Sensitive Aviation Activity if they produce a positive test result. There has been considerable discussion about the legislative provisions relating to consumption of alcohol on another list. My view is that a pilot, having consumed alcoholic liquor, cannot exercise the privileges of the licence at any time in the 8 hour interval before departure or if impaired by alcohol. Kaz

Contact Cub Crafters at Tyabb http://www.cubaircraftaustralia.com.au/

If the ditching occurred in Banks Strait, and near Waterhouse Island, by my reckoning they were only a couple of miles from land and possibly much less. I wonder if the Regulator got mixed up between the two? Kaz

Strongly agree, Dazza. They don't even appear to be belted in. Kaz

Dick and his Chippie.

They put one in on its belly in the mid-70's in a Baron at Karratha, I think it was. Got all excited because they heard the "phantom" was on the ground there and they thought they had him. The phantom was an unlicensed pilot flying an unregistered PA28 who live somewhere in that Gascoyne-Ashburton area who everyone knew but no one was saying. They roared in overhead, saw the miscreant parked near the terminal, whipped it around and put it down. He allegedly waved as he taxied past... Kaz

No P charts for the Auster, either but it does have oil pressure and temperature. Hot days don't seem to worry it much except those big wings want to go up in the thermals and certainly don't want to land on a hot, sealed runway. Kaz

Hi Dick Nice to see you back...now expect to hear some stories about your mate, Carruthers! Kaz

Don and Robert Bunn are up between Howling and Albury. I think they still manufacture some parts for the Gipsy including barrels but not sure if they did heads for them. I think the two Liz's, Dick's wife and his Chippie, are so much part of his life he would be lost without them. Kaz