kgwilson

Nosewheels on most aircraft are a weak point especially in rough landing spots. That's why Bush planes are taildraggers.

Uavionix say that a supply of less than 2.5amps will not adequately charge the SE2. A 2 amp supply will probably charge it to a certain level but it may not fully charge. They also say not to keep it plugged in to your aircraft USB supply as it will consume more than the power outlet can supply. That may be the case for factory built aircraft but if you build your own you could install a 3.5 amp USB outlet. Still that depends on how much power your alternator can supply. New phones & tablets (except Apple) now use PD supply which as I said can deliver 100 watts but the SE2 is still one step back in charging technology using QC3 which new Apple devices also use. Apple has not caught up with the rest of the world in charging technology. A 3.5 amp charger costs very little ($10-15) & you can get car adaptors for about the same price. Make sure though that the charger end is USB A as a lot of new ones are USB C and USB C to USB C are more likely to be PD cables which won't work with the SE2.

It doesn't even look like that engine photo is from that aircraft.

Many of your old chargers won't be any good as they will charge at 2.0 amps or less. At 5 volts nominal output this is only 10 watts. This is insufficient to charge a SE2. Uavionix specify 18 watts or more. The cable supplied is a QC3 cable so you will require a charger with 3.5amps or more. At x 5 volts of output that is 17.5 watts which is fine. You cannot use the later PD (power delivery) USB cables which are capable of delivering up to 100 watts, they just won't work.

I wonder if it was the fact that the Press had loudly published MAYDAY. As it probably came from the Oceanic Datalink Comms emergency transmission how did the Press know unless there was a leak from someone?

I just had a look at mine and the suction cup does sit about 5mm higher than the SE2 in the case. It is a fairly hard cover though and the USB cable doesn't take up much room so I reckon there would have to be a lot of pressure to switch it on & the SE2 switch is recessed as well.

They must have changed the packaging. The new ones come in a hard cover zippered case with the SE2 and suction cup in separate moulded compartments so there is nothing that can switch it on when packed.

I don't know the regulations but I imagine it would be mandatory to divert to the nearest useable aerodrome for the type when one engine failed. In this case Sydney was it anyway.

ETOPS (Extended range Twin engine Operations Performance Standards) began in the 1960s with ETOPS 60 which certified twin engine aircraft to fly for 60 minutes at a specified single engine cruise speed. Now almost all airliners are twin engines and the standards have been updated to much longer times. Ratings go up to ETOPS 370 but actual type approvals are fewer. The highest in ETOPS >180 to design limit.

Yesterday, 18/1/22 Qantas flight QF144 from Auckland to Sydney declared a Mayday an hour out from Sydney. One engine malfunctioned and was shut down. The Mayday was later downgraded to a PAN and the aircraft landed safely. But dozens of ambulances and fire trucks were rushed to the airport on the basis of the mayday obviously reducing their availability elsewhere. A 737-800 can safely fly and land on one engine and even take off with one engine so why would the pilot call a Mayday? My thoughts are that some sort of initial panic set in. Pilots should be trained to deal with such things and not panic. When I heard this on the radio driving home yesterday my immediate reaction was "that's not a Mayday it's a Pan" which is what it turned out to be. Now I see from the ABC news this morning another former Qantas pilot is questioning this decision as well.

If I knew who it was I'd make a point of contacting him and making him aware of his poor airmanship, of course in the nicest possible way. Most people will respond positively if approached correctly. If they become defensive or worse aggressive it is time to back off and write a report to CASA and hold nothing back..

If you don't have Ozrunways or Avplan, Enroute Flight Navigation is a free navigation App that runs on anything Android and has the Skyecho as a traffic receiver interface which works really well. I use it on my phone and my Teclast tablet. Wifi connects automatically & yes you do not want other apps trying to use WiFi at the same time. Any app that allows GDL90 as an interface protocol will work with the SE2.

The Bonza CEO says that using the 737 Max will keep prices low. Given there are plenty of new Max 8s sitting around unsold maybe Bonza got them for a bargain basement price. Their first 3 aircraft have been named Shazza, Bazza & Sheila.

Agreeing sequence numbers among pilots in a circuit is common courtesy and common sense so you all know the order of landing. This is also why ATC does it. Someone coming straight in when the circuit is already established is obnoxious and being lazy when they should have joined the established circuit. The straight in pilot knows the RIU from radio calls of those already in the circuit. Nobody likes queue jumpers. CASA has produced a simple guide for radio calls in uncontrolled airspace entitled "Be seen, be heard, be safe". It is free on line and they will send hard copies free as well.

It is always the pilots responsibility for his/her own safety even if that means breaking rules. If the situation requires it I'll break away. Pilots who insist on coming straight in when there is already an established circuit happening are irresponsible. In those situations joining overhead , descending on the dead side and then slotting in to the circuit is the correct and safest thing to do.

Just to be clear, there are no mandatory calls in CTAF other than to avoid a collision. I have been flying in to events for many years and they range from full ATC to nothing. At warbirds over Wanaka in 2000, 600 light aircraft flew in on the Saturday morning. Even with temporary ATC it was bedlam. At the reporting point I has told I was No15 & saw nothing in front till we started to bunch up & then drama as the twin comanche in front of me forgot to put his gear down. he did at the last minute. It is recommended that you make a 10 mile call with your callsign, location, height inbound intentions and ETA at the circuit. Then you listen as you should have been doing all along. Depending on traffic chatter you can make a 3 mile call and continue. If there is traffic you should now know the runway in use and determine whereabouts to join the circuit (crosswind, downwind, base or straight in) and make that announcement. If there are aircraft in front say No 2 (or whatever position you are) to the Cessna on downwind. You then make a call on every leg, (turning base, turning final & even short final depending on traffic). This will also inform those following. There is always contention of what the right thing to do is when there is an event on an the main one is aircraft calling straight in when the circuit is already established. Straight in is fine so long as there is no conflict. Straight in is just joining the circuit on final. The problem arises when you are already in the circuit and No 2 to an aircraft that has just turned base & you are downwind & then someone announces they are on 3 mile final straight in. You have right of way as No 2 in the circuit & this upstart is pushing in & you can't see him. This has happened to me several times. The last 2 times were at the last Evans Head Great Eastern Flyin & Airventure at Parkes in 2019. My response has been to immediately announce turning base & tell the straight in aircraft he is No3. If he doesn't acknowledge, tell him to acknowledge. When things get busy stress levels go through the roof especially of you are not used to lots of traffic.

Whatever the cause, the end result was an aerodynamic stall with no room to recover.

The attitude was way more than a stall for an ATR. The warnings must have been screaming at them.

After hearing the transcripts the evidence is pretty clear. The airboss made the bad calls & the pilots complied.

Bruce, in their installation Microair recommend a power filter be fitted to eliminate EMI noise & one is suggested called a NF-5 with a picture of it. I could not find these anywhere & Microair were no help at all (they did answer the phone back in 2014). I put in a Mar-Ace marine radio noise filter I got from a local boat shop but it was completely useless so threw it out. I eventually found an in line power filter I think on Ebay from China. It was physically quite big (about 100mm x 50mm cylinder shape) compared to the Microair recommended one that I couldn't get but I managed to find a space on the back of the panel next to the radio. It weighs bugger all. Before the filter I was getting engine induced noise & the filter got rid of this. Other than that I replaced all the radio wiring with single core coax & ferrite chokes for eliminating RFI noise on the cables at the DB15 connector to the radio, the headset jacks & terminated all the earths back at the radio. I didn't have antenna issues as my aircraft is full metal jacket.

I assume all the aircraft are leased so if the S hits the F they will just be repossessed.

It is amazing that they still have the pulleys and cables all the way from the vertical stabiliser & rudder to the cockpit and there are 2 drums which can be turned by hand. The problem is they are very stiff & have to be turned multiple revolutions to move the stabiliser trim even a little bit. There is no time at all to move them up if there has been runaway trim to full down

If its just the spinner you got away with it vey lightly.

Aircraft Spruce still advertises M760s and they are in stock according to the website. They also say the MGL V6 is in stock but it's called a SW avionics V6. From comments here that all sounds very strange.

I accept that from a electronics expert. However mine still works well, receives quite far transmissions & people respond when I make calls, has a built in intercom that works fine, 99 alpha numeric memories, monitors 2 frequencies etc so until it dies or goes haywire I'll just keep using it. I did need to instal a power filter & my initial wiring was crap. Replaced all that with single core shielded cable, put ferrite chokes at all junctions & made sure there was no earthing anywhere & terminated all the earth shield back at the radio. That fixed it and that is how it is now.