Wayne T Mathews

Believe me, I understand Gnome. When I went to find the reference, I couldn't at first. And I must admit I wound up thinking, "Oh come-on, where'd I see that? Dammit!" I knew it was there, but I didn't know where. So I kept looking until I found it under Policy. What a confounding place to put it. Hiding in full view. How diabolical is that?...

You will find the references I was looking for in the RA Aus Tech Manual, section 4.0, under the heading of Policy. There's three pages of good stuff there.

Bet you wanna tell him, eh Maj?

Bin there, done that, got the tee shirt. But it was wrapped round a brick travelling at...

The odds are the a####hole who did that will never read or hear about your post here Reggie. But I'm really sorry to read that it happened to you...

Good morning Gnome, These are good and valid questions. 1/ Yes, an L1 can maintain his own (24 xxxx) RA Aus aircraft, for his own use, so long as it's not being used for commercial training. 2/ A factory built aircraft can be used for training, even after it's been maintained by an L1, BUT, it must be inspected, maintained and signed for by an L2 or above BEFORE, and then WHILE, it's used as a commercial trainer. Questions 3 & 4 tie in and are a little more complex, so I'll answer them together: In the case of any aircraft, syndicated or not, one person is nominated as being responsable for the aircraft's maintenance. That doesn't mean he has to do the maintenance, but it does mean he is responsable for ensuring the aircraft is maintained in accordance with the Maintenance Manual (MM), Service Letters (SLs), Service Bulletins (SBs), Airworthiness Directives (ADs) etc. by competent and qualified people. Now, depending on the syndicate members, that may be a big ask, or not, but it is required, and therefore finding someone to accept that responsability may be a possible downside in a syndicate owned aircraft. Hullo, I've just realized while sitting here writing this, that I don't have the reference material in front of me to verify and explain the maintenance requirement complexities of training in a syndicate owned aircraft (it's out in the hangar) so I'll have to get back to you... To be continued... Edit: Before I go, it may be quicker to pick the phone up and call Adam Finn in Canberra. He'll probably be able to give you a definitive answer quicker, and far more authoritative, than any interpretive answer of mine.

Welcome aboard Thomas. Looking forward to reading about your progress...

Hmmm, gazing into my crystal ball, all misty (or is that blurry) eyed, I can see it is saying you're right Maj. But Turbz has a point, you know. The young blokes who invest in, and then learn how to use the diagnostic equipment that will be needed in the future for a turboed 912i as an example, will wind up earning like a dentist. Trouble is for us though, do we really want to be one of them? For sure it's the way of the future, but... I just pulled the pots on my old girl's C85. Cleaned the valve stems and guides, lapped the valves, replaced the pushrod tube and induction trunk rubbers, and the plugs. Felt comfortable and relaxed doing it. Sort of like sitting in front of the fire with my slippers on, sipping a good coffee. Life is good.

Sure we will Eightyknots. We went to Lebanon to get some Aussie citizens who got caught up in a punch up over there a couple of years ago didn't we? Why would it be different for you?

Sounds like a fun trip... Sorry I can't take you up on it, but there's bound to be somebody else who will... What're you doing Tomo? Put your hand down Lad. They've got ice and stuff down there...

Attempt?... Attempt you say?... Whoah back there Cray... There're blokes up your way with STOL aircraft what'll take that as a slap in the face with a wet hanky. Especially with 350 mtrs to play with. All jokes aside: All you Sav and such drivers up there please bear in mind the two scariest statements in aviation: 1/ An engineer who says, "Oh sh#t!" and, 2/ A pilot who says, "Yeah,,, Well watch this." Seriously though Cray, thanks for the invite. When I'm up that way, I'll drop you a line and come on by to say G'day.

"Definitely trikes only!" Why? Are fixed wings not welcome?

Anybody else got the feeling they may be about to get even?

I once was on a trip from Rockhampton to Richmond in a gaggle of Balus (Caribou) where the bloke giving the briefing said, "Keep the wet on the left, the dry on the right, and turn right at the second big creek." It worked. And nobody used an Ipad. I don't know to this day which was the first big creek though. So I'm guessing there was a bit more than "science" involved in that run for home, eh?

"the less skilled navigators don't pass on their genes"... Not so sure this's true, Lyle. There's certainly evidence out there that it's not...

There's a video on the EAA homebuilder's website about this subject.

Solomon, Flyvulcan has been there, done that, and bought the tee shirt. I doubt there's better advise out there for you to heed on the subject of an RAAF career... Flyvulcan, thank you for taking the time to write what you have here...

Looks very interesting. Thanks for the heads-up Turbz. I must be cracked, but I find it amusing when academics pooh-pooh less qualified people's hypotheses. Invariably, it smarts of jealousy. Criticism of Gavin Menzies may well be a case in point.

It wasn't just the Polynesians who used the wave patterns as indicators, Nev. David Lewis wrote a facinating book, "We, the Navigators", in which he not only describes the techniques used by the various Pacific Islanders to navigate around the World's biggest pond, he also tells how he went to sea and proved their techniques work. If you're into Nav, it's worth a read...

I don't know. Give him a call. His number is in the CFI list on the RA Aus website.

Try Kev Walters' place near Lake Atkinson over Lowood way.

Welcome aboard, Mate... it's a fun place...

Yeah,,, but just because he talks slow, doesn't mean he thinks slow...

Hang on! That wasn't me in the picture. That was some other old 20s style dude. They made 'em turff back in them there days, eh? And not a flower, or Kaftan, in sight. Hehehe. Be afraid Turbz... Be very afraid... :peepwall:

Why? The armstrong one I've got works a treat...