WayneL

Rainy morning but it cleared around midday to a nice afternoon with most flights being conducted by the joyflight crews, warbirds, helis. Wayne

Sounds like heaven, Nick. A nice selection/collection of model types. Welcome to the forum. Wayne.

Like any motorised activity....Always a hoon there somewhere! Back in the early '80's I was asked to be the PIC on a flight from the glider field at Bowenville to Chinchilla for an air show. The aircraft was a jodel owned by my passenger, a gliding instructor who only had his restricted ppl. This jodel had heel brakes but I was unable to use them as I needed to lift my knees slightly to get my heels onto them but the bottom of the instrument panel was in the way. Wayne

Are your ground loops like this one?

Was cheesed off by the 7 news story and lead up ads decribing it as a helicopter crash. On seeing the vision and realising that it was a well controlled auto with what appeared to be little if any damage, I shook my head everytime they said it crashed. Then there was hope in the main news story they went on to describe how the engine power was lost then the heli entered an auto rotation descent............To a controlled Crash! Wayne.

Congratulations Bruce. Sounds like it went well. As I have said before, I am keen to here how the engines goes for you. How did the prop go, was it a good match? Did she fly in trim? Like the enclosed canopy too. Wayne

Looking at australia topo maps I see strips marked at places like Marlborough, Flaggy Rock and Carmila. Looking at Google Earth , the strip west of Marlborough (Marlborough station?) And the Carmila strip look like potential stops for refueling. Might have to call some of the local businesses to see if I can find out who the operator owners are. Must get hold of a current Qld country airstrip guide. Older version I have is no help with strips in this area. Wayne

Thanks Ian. Wayne

I had dismissed an inland route as strips were further apart when looking from Clifton end going up north. But relooking at strips going south from Dingo after Ian's suggestion, I find it possible to continue south and then over to Gympie where I can back track on my coastal route to Clifton. Would prefer the coastal route though, would have to agree with Doug about tiger country. Inland route via Gympie would have me crossing the range 3 times and the Loehle does not have a strong climb. Weather will be a big factor for the coastal route. Like Ian says, most likely to have a south easter that time of year (tail wind ) but will have to wait and see. I am planning this assuming I will have a ground support person in a vehicle to make it easier. Two day flight overnight at Emu park or Hedlow. Will plan to have enough spare time before and after flyin so I am not pressured to fly. Allow timing to fit in with best weather patterns. Wayne.

Hi Wayne GlenParie is property between Headlow and St Lawrence and a private airstrip is on a cane farm at Komula between St Lawrence and Palmyra. I haven't landed at either. Thanks, I have sent you a pm. Would be great if I can contact these property owners to see if I can access these strips. Cheers, Wayne

Yes Scott No problems with Hedlow. Problem is from there to Mackay. Both legs with a headwind are a no go. Wayne

Does anyone know of any airstrips/landing areas between Hedlow & St Lawrence and between St Lawrence & Palmyra? Trying to plan an epic flight in my 95:10 Loehle Sport Parasol from Clifton to Lakeside airpark and return for next Easter's flyin. Trying to keep fuel stops less than 1:15 apart (no wind). The rest of the planned route is doable but the above two segments are too long. Hoping someone knows about any places not shown on the WAC or VNC/VTC charts. Wayne

From some of the above posts I get the impression that sime of you have not taken the time to read Rod Stiff's statement that was posted recently on the Jabiru facebook site. Here is is........ Wayne. From the Directors Desk As expected there has been much discussion on forums and in the media about the closure of yet another Australian Manufacturer. In the years prior to 2009 the aviation market was experiencing a boom period. World-wide demand for products was high, especially in America and South Africa. It was a time of waiting lists and ramping up production to meet demand. Then in one fell swoop in 2008 the GFC occurred and markets were wiped out overnight. Our American market (the majority of our business) virtually disappeared within a week. No-one could have foreseen the GFC and we all had hope there would be some recovery in the months and years that followed however it was a long slow road to recovery. The flow on effects of the GFC did more than simply wipe out demand. Australia’s banking system was in very good shape which caused a massive in-flow of deposits in to Australian banks. This in turn pushed the Australian Dollar up to $1.10 US Dollars. This rapid rise in the AU Dollar from 0.75 cents to $1.10 completed the wipe out of our export market and also led to a flood of imports. The subsequent introduction of LSA meant manufacturers no longer had to face the costs of governmental compliance so a hundred or more new manufacturers emerged and increased competition on the domestic market dramatically. Jabiru’s share of the world and domestic markets dropped dramatically. Fortunately we were structured to be able to operate at this diminished level and still remain profitable. Prior to Jabiru, as many of you will know, I previously worked for many years in the sugar cane industry. I was an engineer and a senior manager of a local company manufacturing sugar cane harvesters for the world market. The success and fortunes of this industry rose and fell on the world prices for sugar. Anyone who has run a business locked in to world commodity prices for agricultural products will know it takes considerable management skills to sustain a business in a market with wild fluctuations in demand. The harvesting business survived until it was taken over by a multi-national company and shipped to Brazil. I learnt many valuable lessons in these years. From this experience I learnt early on in the development of Jabiru to expect the unexpected and to structure a business to survive huge fluctuations in the market. My business principle has been to utilise contractors where ever possible to minimize the huge capital investment required for machinery and buildings. Our premises are humble, we keep it simple. Our profits are used to invest in research and development, design and marketing, certification and staff development. When the world wide demand for product started to increase significantly back in 2006, I very strongly advised our major suppliers, including CAMit not to go in to massive amounts of debt to meet this demand but rather to look at the possibility of out-sourcing to contractors and other strategies. My advice to CAMit at this time in 2006, so they could stay viable in the long term was to start the process of converting the Jabiru engine to castings rather than machining from solid to reduce the capital input and massive debt that would be required for more machinery and new premises. This advice and direction was strongly rebuffed by CAMit. Jabiru at this time obtained prices from New Zealand suppliers for crankcase castings. Jabiru was fully prepared and offered to fund the entire pattern and associated costs for CAMit to implement this development. This however was also rebuffed. I could foresee the capital required for machinery was dangerously high and debt funded, and could place them in a precarious position. 2006 was the beginning of the research and development of the cast engine that would require very low capital input for machinery. Ideally, I had hoped CAMit would come on this journey and continue to produce and develop the next generation Jabiru engines however two different directions and thought processes were occurring. When the GFC did strike in 2008 and the market disappeared I became very concerned that CAMit’s business may not be sustainable on this dramatically reduced volume. From experience, I knew this was the time for aggressive management action and restructuring by CAMit in order for them to remain viable. To allow CAMit time for this re-structure, Jabiru continued to order and buy engines when there was simply no market in an attempt to assist and keep them viable. This in turn forced Jabiru in to a borrowing situation to continue purchasing engines to the point where we had over 360 engines in stock. Jabiru’s own survivability as well as CAMit’s had to be seriously considered at this point. Insufficient action seemed to be taken by CAMit to reduce debt and I became increasingly concerned. What would happen to our valued customer base of 6,500 engines and 2,100 airframes worldwide if we were left without an engine manufacturer. Jabiru has been my life’s work and I feel a deep responsibility for our customer base and my staff. Jabiru had already experienced early on in our development the failure of one engine manufacturer, KFM. At the time, this pushed the company to the brink and very nearly spelt the end for Jabiru. Everything Yvonne and I owned was mortgaged to the hilt to keep the company alive. I had visions of the same thing possibly happening again. It became increasingly evident that I needed to insulate the company as much as possible to ensure our longevity in the market should the unthinkable happen. I held grave concerns and sympathy for the situation CAMit was in. Understandably, CAMit had to look to diversification and obtain other contracts. We were pleased and heartened when they obtained mining support work. Mining work is extremely competitive however and when the mining industry also experienced a contraction in demand it was another blow for CAMit. We were saddened, but not surprised when CAMit then entered the retail market with a look-alike Jabiru engine. Desperate needs leads to desperate deeds and I understood. I sincerely hoped that CAMit would survive. I am always saddened by the demise of any form of Australian Manufacturing be it competition or not. CASA limitations further damaged our market world- wide and if it were not for our astute financial management and complete absence of debt we would have perished. We have been able to maintain our workforce and carry on. As with the on-going research and development of any engine there are highs and lows, however at all times I have endeavoured to build an affordable, light weight, reliable engine and air frame that would enable the average man to enjoy the pleasures of flight. In this endeavour we have been successful and our brand is now known around the world. There has been much criticism of Jabiru but I remain fiercely driven and proud of the products we produce as a small concern with limited funds using many Australian suppliers. As it stands today we have stock on the shelf and are arranging supply of the majority of components to support existing engines and spare parts. We are progressively placing the remainder of components with suitably qualified factories. We will put in our best effort to have a seamless transition for spare parts and engines. Rodney Stiff Managing Director

And what a beautiful day for it too!

Don't get a 'Buzz' out of flying anymore? Well you should try this kind of flying! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUvCMhZszto

All my passengers that lived in Clifton were very happy to point out their house to me. I am sure some saw the aircraft flying over in the morning and decided to come out for a flight just so they could see their place from the air judging by their comments. Wayne

The club members decided a few months ago to arrange an open day for the public to come out to the field and go for a 15min flight around the local area in exchange for a 25 dollar donation to the Toowoomba Hospice. Preparation started a couple of weekends before the day (Saturday the 8th Oct.) with the mowing chores completed. On the Friday afternoon aircraft were washed and fueled, the club hangar was decked out with seating and tables and some of the food requirements for the day were planned and/or prepared. Early on the day members setup the shade shelters, BBQ, food prepared and display aircraft positioned. At 0800hr local time Trevor Bange called all pilots in for the briefing. Weather was looking kind, light NW winds swinging SW late into the afternoon. We had a high cloud cover which helped keep the heat down slightly on the forecast temp. The plan was to operate off Rwy 24 and do very large left circuit that took us to Clifton Township at the end of the downwind leg and a 3 mile final with the only agreed call point being over a new tin shed on final. With up to nine aircraft in the circuit at any one time this kept the radio chatter to a minimum. Aircraft were to line up one behind each other waiting for a passenger. At the start around 0830hrs LT the line looked like a mass production line of Jabiru's (or maybe a taxi rank with waiting passengers). The event was reported in local media and we expected around 40 people to fly.......on the day, somewhere around 130 odd tickets were issues to go for a flight with more than 120 passengers flying on the day. We had two Drifters, a Savannah, Piper Colt/Tri pacer and 5 or 6 Jab's doing the circuit again & again. I flew 11 passengers in a Drifter for the day with a change of pilot at lunch time. About 5 of my passengers were from Clifton, one from Brisbane and the rest from Toowoomba. Everyone enjoyed their flights, some had two flights, daring to try the Drifter after enjoying their flight in the cab of a Jabiru first. All my passengers called out 'WOW' after leaving the ground in the Drifter, enjoying the view immensely. Nearly all said this was something that they wanted to do for a long time. As the volunteer pilots we all enjoyed the pleasure of taking these people for a flight. We had families of 5 lining up to fly one at a time, each time they exchanged waves as they came in to land past the waiting point. Club member Justin flew his Gyro during the day to the enjoyment of the people waiting for flights. We put on display 4 aircraft for the public to look at while waiting for flights. Trevor's 1936 Porterfield, replica Spitfire & Nieuport and Loehle Sports Parasol. Our last 2 passengers were in the Club Drifters at 1500hrs the it was time to packup and return the field to normal again. I can say that I was tired later that evening! The air was good to us all day, not many bumps, some smoke haze but clearer later in the morning. I didn't get a chance to take any photos while flying but here are some photos the the display aircraft in the morning before intending passengers arrived.

My Flight this morning at Clifton was in winds gusting to 22 knots, luckly nearly straight down runway 24. It was smoother than I expected but there were a few bumps on short final. I actually enjoyed the touch and goes with a low ground speed. Ground rolls were all only about 3 times the Drifters length and takeoffs seemed even shorter. I actually did each 'touch n go' to a full stop on the runway (to see how short I could go..) then commenced the takeoff again. None of the landings rolled past the first 100m runway markers. Wayne.

Yes Garry, remember you and your daughter well and those Fridays nights playing the guitar. Glad you are enjoying the Cougar, they look fast just standing still! Wayne.

In 1975 at Redcliffe....C150 dual $22ph Solo $18ph on apprentice wage, 1 hour per week!

Welcome on board revgazza. Did you make regular flyin in visits to Adels Grove by any chance.....or am I thinking of someone else. My wife snd I worked there in 2010. Wayne.

I read that the mag is to go back on the shelf again as a trial.

Hopefuly they have a few different versions of the exam to alternate! Wayne

After writing this, found an email with exam results and the incorrect questions listed, but no answers to them. Wayne

A windy day yesterday so decided to sit in front of the computer and do the L1 course. Took me 90 minutes and passed with 94%. Would have been quicker if I had the tech manual and other references sitting beside me in print. Scrolling through docs on the screen I find tiring compared to reading a printed page. Using search in reference docs did help though. Many of the questions relate to where to look for the relevant info on maintenance which didn't apply to my kit plans built 95.10 aircraft. Was only one question near the end that was most relevant to my aircraft regarding a maintenance schedule. Thought that I would get to see the correct answers to the 3 questions I got wrong and/or which questions. Was not to be though. Wayne