Piet Fil

Rich, thanks for doing the videos.... I used them in a slightly different way to what I assume you originally intended... I used them as a resource whilst doing my RAAus instructors rating... I found them invaluable for listening to Bruce's sequences, patter and explanations whilst instructing the various elements of the competencies ... It was extremely helpful. Many thanks to you (and Bruce) for the video help Congrats on the Pilot Certificate. Stay safe and keep enjoying the privileges and the challenge of flight Phil

Farri, the currency requirement is a casa part 61 (61.395) requirement for all pilots irregardless of what license organisation they operate under and the RAAus ops manual is their requirement for holding their endorsement. So both apply ... just come from different source requirements.

Agree with Stoney's and Camel's posts. After flying for around 120hrs I felt I had plateaued. I still loved my flying and enjoyed every flight but was also aware I was going into the danger zone of the 100-300hr pilot (read the "killing zone - how and why pilots die" by Paul Craig) and was also reading "Stick and Rudder" by Wolfgang Langeweische again. So I just did around ten hours or so of instruction focussing on improving my flying (refining my personal tolerances). It also involved discussing more about theory, the how's and whys of various aspects of flying and the aircraft. My opinion is, that like many other things in life, there are some things a student can only do, learn or understand properly after basic competence has been gained and consolidated. What it's called is not important and a lot of people fall into the category of "I've had my driving license for forty years and I've never had another lesson" yet still manage to drive poorly or not to their full potential. Many vocations have professional development requirements for the same reason ... Just doing the function isn't enough to improve .. You don't know what you don't know. I will say that Youcan also improve by self study and learning but seeking further instruction is just another valid pathway. People may mention the additional cost but my view is the rate of learning is increased by the external feedback and tends to balance out with reduced hours to get get to the same point as the self learner. Totally up to the individual which way they go but I enjoyed it and found it value for money. Enjoy your flying

From the Aviation Advertiser ad ... It had a Rotax 100hp engine with around 130hrs on it.

I used the D-H RAAus X-country manual and found it very good. Between that, the VFR flight guide and the online Brandon tutorials you'll have all the info you need. The D-H manual gives a good logical learning structure and supplement each topic with info from the VFRFG and on-line tutorials. Also google earth is your friend when planning your pracs.

I booked a powered site on wed 13 jul, got through on the phone no problems, nice lady said all the rooms were booked (but a powered site didn't seem a problem) Good luck

Good stuff RJW ... Keep them coming please.

Anjum, The short answer is the switch needs to be on for it to work correctly. A quick search of the Internet yields the following The turn indicator is a gyroscopic instrument that works on the principle of precession. The gyro is mounted in a gimbal. The gyro's rotational axis is in-line with the lateral (pitch) axis of the aircraft, while the gimbal has limited freedom around the longitudinal (roll) axis of the aircraft. As the aircraft yaws, a torque force is applied to the gyro around the vertical axis, due to aircraft yaw, which causes gyro precession around the roll axis. The gyro spins on an axis that is 90 degrees relative to the direction of the applied yaw torque force. The gyro and gimbal rotate (around the roll axis) with limited freedom against a calibrated spring. The torque force against the spring reaches an equilibrium and the angle that the gimbal and gyro become positioned is directly connected to the display needle, thereby indicating the rate of turn.[3] In the turn coordinator, the gyro is canted 30 degrees from the horizontal so it responds to roll as well as yaw. Phil

Nik, Really enjoyed the Fokker DR1 episode. The doctor came across quite well as to his reasons for building. It was interesting watching him apply the Oratex. Hadn't seen it applied before, though I get nervous watching anyone heat shrink with a heat gun. Would much prefer to have seen a calibrated iron in use ... Oh well, also felt for the camera man when the good doctor dropped the tiger moth onto the runway .. Lol Still was a great episode, thank Phil

Rick, It only gets better, the enjoyment of increasing competence is second to none. Just be a bit guarded against the potential overconfidence that can come with it. But really just enjoy the learning process it never stops Phil

Certainly looks like it's based on the Bernie pietenpol design. Same rib and fuselage structure. Untidy around the nose though. I don't think I'd be accepting the test pilot role

Frank, The reason why is whilst I was aviating and navigating, I still had about four and a half minutes of engine failure, glide time to make my mayday call. I wish to make sure I was succinct and didn't distract MEL CTR with superfluous info "ie: what I had for breakfast". Funnily enough as any trainer can tell you one of the best ways to improve performance is to both self and professionally debrief on your performance, particularly when it's done under a pressure situation. Whilst I can tell you what I think I said in the mayday call, And I certainly know the message I was trying to get across to MEL CTR. it may be my mind under stress not recalling things clearly. If there is an opportunity to review what I said and how I expressed myself and improve my airmanship I think that is exactly what the aviation journey is meant to be about. I hope this explains why I asked a simple question Phil

Does anyone know whether you can get an audio copy of your "mayday" call post the incident? If you can, how and who do you contact to get a copy. I would like the opportunity to listen to my call to see what lessons I can learn from it. thanks in advance PHIL