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sfGnome

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Everything posted by sfGnome

  1. sfGnome
    G'day Latestarter. I noticed that you joined back in March - looks like you've been planning this little TIF for a while! It's a good idea to get the budget in order at the start like you said. You lose 'touch' when you don't fly, and when it's all new you lose it even faster, so to have to stop in the middle of the training wastes a fair ol' whack of that hard-earned...
  2. sfGnome
    Can I ask a question about BFR's? I was told by my CFI that a BFR is not a flight test, it is a review. When I queried what he meant, he said that in a test, he has to sit and watch what the aspiring pilot does and pass or fail her/him, whereas in a BFR, he can (and should) discuss the issues and help to correct them there and then, and that the successful completion of the BFR is based not on whether the pilot did every thing right, but on whether the CFI thinks that he/she has 'got it' and will be doing things right in the future. Question to all you instructors is, have I got that right? (I hope I'm not hijacking the thread - it seems applicable to the current discussion :) ).
  3. sfGnome
    Windsor, watch out for the Acer netbooks. I've got one and and another friend has likewise, and the Ubuntu distro sort-of works on it. The memory card slot doesn't work, if you switch to battery then it declares the battery flat and shuts down (works ok after you restart it again) and you have to do a few fiddles to get skype working. That's better than when it's running windows, 'cause Skype blue screens the machine under windows. The final insult is when you try to claim their "cash-back" - just google Acer Cashback and you'll get an idea of what your chances of ever seeing any money are. Friends with the ASUS eee seem somewhat happier...
  4. sfGnome
    I know that the experienced pilots will already know this, but here's a little cautionary tale for those like me with lots still to learn. Flying north one day into a stiff northerly and trying to keep to the 3500' altitude suitable for my heading, I had to pass over an east-west range with a clearance of only 500'. That's ok, thinks I. It's only a ridge, and I'll have plenty of hight (AGL) on either side of the ridge. Wrong, wrong, wrong. On the southern side of an east-west ridge with a strong northerly blowing over it will be a nice big sink, and I proceeded to lose altitude at an alarming rate as I approached the hills. Full throttle and a best angle climb recovered the situation, but it's not a situation that I want to be in again. I think that from now on, I'll treat the 'correct' cruise altitudes as the guide that they are (below 5000) rather than treating them as the rule that I was. Definitely a case where LSALT was not a safe altitude at all.
  5. sfGnome
    Don, Go back and read the bit about dented self esteem! At the moment I think it's the devils invention, but I know that it will be great when I a) have a nicer day, and b) aren't kicking myself around the paddock for flying so badly.
  6. sfGnome
    Geez. It took me about an hour just to read all the messages... Nice to see the pilots getting some good press.
  7. sfGnome
    Hey, I like that metaphor. I seem to have a very leaky experience bucket! It's fun to keep it topped up, but I wish I could plug the leak a bit too! With a bit of luck I'll get a reasonable amount of flying in in the early part of next year - planning my first multi-day flight dropping in on various family members scattered around the south-eastern seaboard - so with a bit of luck the consistent practice of flying for 4 days in a row will slow the drip rate. Back on topic... after 3 months off recently, I was really surprised at how much 'touch' I'd lost (but it comes back! :) )
  8. sfGnome
    A couple of weeks ago I had my first flight for about 3 months (work and travel had conspired against me) in the 160 that I learned in - it was a hot day and the combination of cross wind and thermals meant that my "couple of circuits refresher with an instructor" turned into an hour of circuits, an invitation to come back and spend a bit more time together and a severely dented dented self esteem. Move forward about a week and I got an hour in a LSA 55 on a beautiful, cool, still morning and it just flew like it was on rails. I'll agree from past experience that the LSA is a bit twitchy, but doesn't the day make a difference?? :)
  9. sfGnome
    Good on you Tomo. This is just sticking a toe in the water, isn't it?
  10. sfGnome
    Hildy, nice choice of subject! Back when flying was still a dream, I'd listen to that song and kind-of disappear inside my head for a while... ...and for those of you who haven't got a clue what we're talking about... Welcome. The hunter valley is a nice place to look down on from up there!
  11. sfGnome
    ...and did she like it? :thumb_up:
  12. sfGnome
    Hmmm... I can remember my first solo clear as day, but I can't remember much about graduating. Maybe that's because the solo was last year, and graduating was last century! Enjoy not studying for a little while! What's next?
  13. sfGnome
    I've done steep turns and stalls relatively recently, and every flight ends with a few circuits trying to keep the landing absolutely perfect (oh, alright. Trying to get the landing somewhere within a bulls roar of OK :) ). What I haven't done for a while is engine outs (memo to self - just do it!). I'd really like to try some extreme attitude training just so I know where the edge is that I should be keeping away from. Problem is, I can't do extreme in RA planes, and I don't think I can fly GA without going through all the guff to get a GA student ticket that I wouldn't use...
  14. sfGnome
    The wings (struts?) that support the circular wing seem to have a very high angle of attack compared to the circular wing itself. Should be good for a few UFO sightings though. :)
  15. sfGnome
    Yep. Was going to fly today for the first time in a couple of months (been away and then works been all-consuming). I reckon I would've just about needed a snorkel if I'd tried! i_dunno
  16. sfGnome
    I've just had the joys of learning a (very little bit of a) new language for travelling purposes, and it came as a great surprise when people over there actually understood the gibberish I was spouting (can't say I understood much of their replies, but that's not their fault! :) ). The radio was a bit like that for me too. For a while you're trying to remember what you're supposed to be saying, word by word, and then one day you spout a full sentence without really thinking it through and all of a sudden you're away and flying (so to speak :) ).
  17. sfGnome
    I seem to recall singing, but I couldn't tell you what it was. All I remember was that it was the first time I could sing in a plane without the CFI looking at me very strangely... Mind you, I think that I did a fair bit more talking to myself than singing. I still talk to myself all the time when I'm flying solo - a blokes gotta have some company. :)
  18. sfGnome
    Thanks for your thoughts. As always, they've given me plenty to ponder on!
  19. sfGnome
    Being relatively new to flying and having only flown two very similar types, I currently only use memorised checklists. However, I'm thinking of changing that for two reasons; * just occasionally, I find that I've missed something - nothing yet that's bitten me, but one of these days... * my beloved is a somewhat nervous flyer - she comes with me as a favour, not because she likes it - and I was thinking that getting her to 'call' the lists might both give her something to do and also distract her from noticing that there's not a lot under her feet! :) What do you think? Reckon it'd work?
  20. sfGnome
    I'm not sure which would be better - being up there or being down in the snow. Either would be better than being at work... :big_grin:
  21. sfGnome
    Nah! Building = Good. No need for psychiatric assistance! (take it from an old engineer :) ). I'd give my back teeth to (have the time and money to) build. Interesting about the 160 at Cessnock. I've been having fun at the Oaks (flew a mate down to Goulburn this morning just for the helluvit), but something bigger than the LSA would be good to get back to. Anyhow, enough hijacking (Sorry folks!).
  22. sfGnome
    Ozzie, It was strange reading your initial post. All the time I'm thinking, hmmm... my wife's family came on the Maitland... lots of people died on the trip... brothers and wives and kids... settled in the Hunter... Anyhow, I went and looked it up and they arrived in 1830 so it wasn't the same family. Looks like coming to Oz on the Maitland was a dangerous undertaking!
  23. sfGnome
    Don, small hijack time. What are you thinking of getting?
  24. sfGnome
    John, How much do you expect to get completed at Taree, and how long are you going to be there? Are you aiming to skin the fuse, or just get the framework in place? Wings? Tail feathers? So many questions... :)
  25. sfGnome
    Hmmm... Clearly I'm going to have to come over to Perth one of these days. Anywhere that can manage an airstrip in such a beautiful location (even if it isn't used much) has to be a bit special! :)
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