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.

Please read the original post again. I am not offering to exchange washing airplanes for lessons. As far as I can see there is no flying club or school prepared to deliver the RPL right now and I'm offering to help run a "pilot program" - in the sense meaning "trial" - to debug someone's delivery of it. I also expect to pay the majority of the full price, but don't believe any school could justify charging full price right now due to their unpreparedness and the screwing around it would involve for the first trainee. You guys are pilots, really? Sure glad they brought in the mandatory minimum requirements for understanding of English.

I'd say five hours at maximum to an RPL, any more and the instructor is wasting time to build his own hours. Never did the flight radio licence - Lilydale is uncontrolled - but I have a ham licence and a maritime radio operator's certificate, both passed on the first shot. I can't remember the specs of the Warrior any longer but I could fly one again if someone reminded me. Recently qualified for a HC (semi) licence so hand-eye co-ordination is still there. Remember I'm going to be living in NZ. They have a 50 hr minimum so that's a lot more hours. Besides, I have no desire to fly at night. At this point I don't need any of the RPL endorsements either, although I'd do the radio endorsement because it's easy and almost cost-free.

I believe GFPT came in after 2004. It was called the Restricted Private Pilots Licence when I started. BTW I did a search for Lismore Aero Club, couldn't even find a website. Typical.

Well, most of my flying was done toward a PPL originally so I really don't belong in either camp. As far as research goes, have you ever tried to get a reply to an email from a flying school? I figured posting here would be way faster, since I want it done and dusted by the end of August. I am thoroughly over the never-ending training and piecemeal approach and so far have a huge investment in study and cash for very little to show for it. I figure most schools won't yet be geared up to deliver the RPL, so I'm offering to help. That includes streamlining delivery by researching all the necessary steps and even preparing a checklist for use at the school. Hell, I'll even wash airplanes while they do it if it gets me a licence I can actually use. I'm sure there must be some overloaded CFI out there who will find this an attractive proposition. And if you believe there is any school in Australia prepared for this already, try googling RPL Training and see what you get. Nada.

After much consideration of available training options, it's almost certain I'll be going the RPL route to complete my pilot training. If there's a flying school out there that wants a test bunny to go through all the new regulations and refine their internal procedures for this new licence, I'm your guy. In exchange I'm hoping to get some kind of rate reduction, but bear with me while I explain the situation. In the mid 80's I did 16.3 hrs dual and 2.9 hrs solo at Lilydale, flying Piper Warrior PA-28-161's. At that time I attained a Student Pilot licence which is marked Permanently Valid and endorsed with a rating for that aircraft. I also have the updated CASA version dated 08 Nov 2004 which I believe was a necessity due to changes in legislation. Then in 2004 I took further lessons through RAAus in a Thruster TST and did a further 9.6 hrs dual instruction, at which time I passed the BAK and solo exams. I haven't flown since, mainly due to cost considerations. This means that in terms of hours required I almost qualify already, but will certainly need a couple more exams, a flight review and a minimum of 2.6 hrs solo for the basic RPL licence requirements. At least. I own a microlight in NZ and intend to fly that, which means I'll be doing a conversion to either a NZ RPL or RAANZ certificate later, so this affects the type of aircraft I'd like to be training in. My plane is a single seat, highwing trike with a Rotax 447 in tractor configuration so something close to that would be preferable, although I'm certainly not averse to flying a GA aircraft of similar type. Training is not available in the area where I bought my house so I might as well do it here before my next trip to NZ in late September. I'm 61yo and retired, and my health is perfect, being an ex-smoker (2 years) and non-drinker. I'm also a fast student and could self study any theory exams without issue. Finally any offer of training, if accepted, will be paid in full before starting, to encourage further discount through package deals. I can go anywhere in northern NSW or SE Qld (currently in Brisbane) and am available immediately. Preference will also be given to uncontrolled airspace, since I'll be flying in a region where there are few aircraft and no tower exists. I'd like to be the first person to finish the RPL, but I'm sure there are a lot of contenders out there. So, who'll take me on?

Neil France is selling an XTC in kiwiland at the moment, it was on TradeMe last week but the ad expired.

What can I say, Nev. I'm a canard fan.

I can't see any reason why it wouldn't entitle the holder to fly an RA-Aus registered aircraft. According to the CASA document rr61_rpl_fs.pdf "A pilot certificate is equivalent to an RPL." In New Zealand a PPL holder can simply get type certification on a microlight and fly the damned thing. We should be doing the same. My prediction is that by the cutoff date, 31 Aug 2018, the RAA flying schools will be decimated. There's a political formula for this, btw. SQ + MUP = LFO (where SQ is Status Quo, MUP is Most Uninspiring Possibility and LFO is Likely Future Outcome)

The Onan-powered Quickie belongs to John Ten Have and is registered as a homebuilt. There is one Quickie on the RAANZ register but with the high stall speed it most likely snuck in while no-one was looking. I owned Quickie ZK-JGZ briefly but the cost of shipping to Australia was prohibitive.