Rob Judd

Well yeah, you can fix anything by throwing enough power at it, but that isn't exactly efficient. Still, I'm sure it will match some minor part of the US public's idea of a "sports plane".

I'll be waiting until they've actually built one and flown it. With all those "features" it will undoubtedly be heavy and slow. Interesting concept, but I suspect that it will not perform well as either a boat or an airplane, by the time you load it with guns and fishing gear and hammock and food and mooring lines and anchor and docking thrusters and house batteries and solar panels and ... well, you get the picture. And with all that movable/removable stuff it better have a wide CG range for safety. Anyone can design something like this with a computer, and that's all they have achieved so far. Would you invest $100,000 in their pipe dream? If not you'll be waiting until 2017, and that's just for a kit of parts.

The council in Croydon, Vic tried this bulldust when they decided to close the local swimming pool. My father went down there and pointed out that it had been built with donated funds, and since his name was on the brass plaque at the entrance he wasn't going to stand for it. The kids of the area never knew how close they came to losing one of the few cheap forms of entertainment available.

Passed in (no sale) on eBay at $1000 which is a pretty good price http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/bantam-b10-ultralight-near-finished-project-with-rotax447-b-series-gearbox-/271556379478?pt=AU_Aircraft&hash=item3f3a058356

The Solitaire is one rare bird! According to Wikipedia there were only seven registered as at 2011. I remember the Pterodactyl Ascender as well, interesting design indeed. I became interested in canards back in the late 70s when I first read about the Vari-Viggen. Had some correspondence with Burt but by the time my (snail) mail got there he had moved on to composites and was no longer selling the plans to it. I was never really a fan of the VariEze due to the need for long tarred strips, and told Burt that what we really needed was a STOL that could operate off grass. He then designed the Grizzly but never made plans available. Badly wanted a Quickie but was sorely disappointed that it was only available as a full kit. I eventually bought ZK-JGZ in the mid-2000s then couldn't get it shipped from NZ at a reasonable price. Resold to Mark Fitzgerald who is still restoring it down in Timaru. It's one of only four left in that country, of six built. (One exported to Australia, another destroyed) One day, one day.

One on eBay http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/KR-2-Two-seat-aeroplane-/271562616514?pt=AU_Aircraft&hash=item3f3a64aec2 One on TradeMe http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/aircraft/aircraft/auction-692286912.htm Seems like the going price for a project airplane is around $11k. I've always like this design.

Let's compare apples with apples here. Moorabbin has higher rental and built-in costs dictate the rates. Lismore $340ph. Lilydale $242ph. Both dual wet rates. And I certainly wouldn't need 18 hours to complete an RPL either.

The flight training facilities in this fair country are pricing themselves out of business. I got a quote, considered it was too high, and made other arrangements. Tyre kicker? I think not. I was quoted 18+ hours and the dual rates for Warriors were $340ph. Would you pay that? This is no complaint about NRAC at all, they're entitled to set whatever prices they can get locally. But I'm pretty sure only the locals, uninformed as to what's available elsewhere, would actually go for it. I certainly didn't waste Bill's time, although he may have wasted his own. He wouldn't tell me their hourly rates until he got my logs and did a full quote.

Thread closed. I got the quote from Lismore and their rates are 50% higher than Lilydale. Will be completing my training in New Zealand, where I can get dual in a FlySynthesis Storch for NZ$120ph. Thanks for playing everyone.

Turns out Bill at NRAC has been very helpful. He suggested finishing the RA-Aus training in the Jabiru and then simply doing a couple of hours in the Warrior to get the RPL. Apparently all I need is the RA-Aus Radio and Human Factors exams and a few hours more flying. Thanks Dazza.

And there's mistake number one. Why not start delivering now, and certify on 1st September? It's all about business acumen and taking advantage of opportunities. (i.e. there's the quick, and the dead.)

From my side of the equation it all has to do with what I can easily convert to a NZ licence/certificate. If a school isn't prepared to deliver the RPL yet then I'd be doing them a service by helping streamline it, for which I'd expect some compensation. No-one has to take up that offer if they don't want it. As far as administration of the RPL vs what's currently in place, I'd suggest reading the requirements before assuming they're identical. It's more to do with knowing what to leave out than knowing what to include.

Sorry Pete, but you've misunderstood my post and derailed the thread. I wasn't commenting about anyone's spelling or grammar, but on their understanding of what was intended by the writer. We now have a string of knee-jerk reactions to that post, thanks to your painting me as a grammar nazi.

I stand corrected. They didn't call it that at Lilydale. Cheers Dazza, they look pretty good actually. Everything from recreational to commercial and they seem to be flying Jabirus, which would be an easy conversion to my aircraft type. They also have a Warrior! There's a glitch however, in that their Jabirus are RA-Aus registered so they may not be eligible for RPL training. Solo in the Warrior would run to $180/hr which is way out of my budget. I can get dual in kiwiland for NZ$120/hr (but they require many more hours for a licence). I'll get in contact and ask them anyhow.