GAFA

Domestic cargo-only ops in small aircraft changes; http://www.casa.gov.au/scripts/nc.dll?WCMS:STANDARD::pc=PC_102190

Scenic flight changes; http://www.casa.gov.au/scripts/nc.dll?WCMS:STANDARD::pc=PC_102368

CASA are also making changes to freight only ops which should also stimulate GA a bit.

Back in my GA days the flying school I worked in Bankstown had the only C172s, C182 and C206 on the airport so I did a lot of scenic flights in all 3 types. However most were done in the C172s. In general most C172 flights fell into the following categories; 1. 2 pax ( young male taking his girlfriend up) 2. 2 pax (a dad/ mum taking their son/daughter for a fly) 3. 3 pax (young male taking his girlfriend and she brings a friend along for support) 4. 3 pax ( two young males and 1 female) 5. 3 pax (a dad/mum taking their 2 kids for for a fly) Never once had 90-100kg blokes turn up and ask for a joy flight. If they did you would limit the flight to 30 mins and then you could carry them. Plus after 30 mins the two blokes in the back would want to get out as it would be rather tight in there. Given CASA's proposed changes to scenic flights ie no AOC required I'm looking at doing the same idea and using a C172. The problem with the C182 is the extra cost of maintenance on the CSU plus the extra 2 cylinders (ie more spark plugs) and the extra fuel burn. If you need to carry 4 adults and bags all the time over a reasonable distance then C182 is the way to go. However if you are looking at doing 30-60 mins scenic flights then you can't beat the C172.

Considering most scenic/joy flights are between 30 to 60mins long there is no problem carrying the pilot plus 3 paying adults in a C172.

If RAAus want to use Facebook as a means of promoting themselves and recreational flying than their current page requires lots of work. It looks very cheap especially the cover photo with the staff holding the orange signs up. I know it's only new, but if they want to attract more members the page needs more information. My thoughts would be to include; 1. At least a weekly review (photos and text) of each aircraft type current on the RAAus rego 2. A weekly flying school catch up (photos and text). Have each school post photos of what has occurred ie first solo's etc at their school during the past week. 3. Owners post photos of their aircraft, explain why they chose that type and why they chose the RAAus path

Nice, the Brumby's do look more robust then most LSA's and will most likely take years of 'student' abuse better than most.

The Skycatcher is a fastback with a rear window, so you get the best of both.

Gofly at Caboolture and Caloundra have 2 Slings on line and they are cheaper than any school at Archerfield.

Flown all the Cessna piston singles including the C162 and I found it not much different to the C150/152 in pitch sensitive.

From Avhearld; On Feb 6th 2015 Taiwan's ASC reported that the investigation so far determined from flight data and cockpit voice recorders: the aircraft received takeoff clearance at 10:51L, in the initial climb the aircraft was handed off to departure at 10:52:33L. At 10:52:38L at about 1200 feet MSL, 37 seconds after becoming airborne, a master warning activated related to the failure of the right hand engine, at 10:52:43L the left hand engine was throttled back and at 10:53:00L the crew began to discuss engine #1 had stalled. At 10:53:06L the right hand engine (engine #2) auto-feathered. At 10:53:12L a first stall warning occured and ceased at 10:53:18L. At 10:53:19L the crew discussed that engine #1 had already feathered, the fuel supply had already been cut to the engine and decided to attempt a restart of engine #1. Two seconds later another stall warning activated. At 10:53:34L the crew radioed "Mayday! Mayday! Engine flame out!", multiple attempts to restart the engines followed to no avail. At 10:54:34L a second master warning activated, 0.4 seconds later both recorders stopped recording. Later the day Feb 6th 2015 the ASC also released an English version of the initial release detailing further that when the first master warning activated associated with the right hand engine the crew "called it out", then the left hand engine thrust lever was progressively retarded to flight idle. At 10:53:24L the condition lever was set to fuel shut off position resulting in the shut down of the left hand engine. Following several call outs to restart the left hand engine the parameters suggest the left hand engine was restarted at 10:54:20L, however, at 10:54:34L another master warning sounded, the CVR recorded unidentified sounds and both recorders stopped. From this it appears the crew identified the wrong failed engine and shutdown the operating engine.

Agree, I think it is a hoax as I've done the flights around the rock and it would be just about impossible. Plus given everyone has a smart phone someone would have snapped a photo of it.

The 27-year-old man from Yaraka, in central western Queensland, was granted bail by Alice Springs Magistrates Court as his legal team arrives in the red centre over weekend. The tyres on the aircraft left two long marks on the surface of the famous landmark, which are expected to cost millions to remove. He has has been charged with a string of aviation and criminal offences, which include operating an aircraft while intoxicated, endangering the safety of an aircraft and criminal damage of a sacred site. The man’s six-seater, single-engine Piper Saratoga has been seized by Northern Territory Police for forensic examination. Detectives are trying to establish what motivated the man to try to land his plane on the monolith and he’s chosen to remain silent over the matter. Local media have dubbed the pilot “The Red Centre Barron” but have been placed under a gag order – effectively blacking out coverage from mainstream media. Dayle Wap-Johns is a cleaner at the nearby Ayers Rock Resort and saw the action unfold. “He coming in hot. Like real hot,” said Mr Wap-Johns. “He done flown right over [sic] my head and straight on for the rock,” “I heard the ‘squeek’ from they tires, too – when he put ‘er [sic] down.” As The Betoota Advocate is independently owned and run, we are not subject to the gag order and can report on the story accordingly. The alleged aviation criminal is set to reappear in court later this month.

Stupid iPad, that should be GoPro.

I've seen selfies posted of people on their first solo's. If I was still instructing I would be pulling the go-prop out of the aircraft before sending them solo. If the student refused to hand it over, then no going solo. I would also ask for their mobile, so they can't take a selfie with that or get distracted by it ringing just in case they forgot to turn it off. Remember it's Aviate, Navigate, Communicate, not Selfie, Selife, Selfie

Agree, and the same applies in the USA, yet the cost of flying over there has not increased like it has in Australia. When I did my training (late 80's early 90's) and GA flying during the 90's the cost per hour between flying in Australia and the USA was on average $20-40, now the difference is more than double.

Back in the 90's when I was instructing at Bankstown the dual rate in the C152/PA38 was $120 and for the C172 / PA28 $148. Is amazing how the cost of flying in Australia has more than doubled during the last 15 years, yet in the USA the cost has only slightly increased with most training organisations charging between $130-$180 dual for the C152/C162 and PA38s.

Not really, there is nothing to fear when flying in CTA (it's easier than OCTA). The controllers give you an instruction, you follow it. If you don't understand it ask for clarification. If they give you an instruction that you can't comply with, tell them and they will provide you with another instruction. Where most pilots (including professional pilots) get themselves into trouble in CTA (in particular during approach) is they won't say 'No' or 'Unable' to ATC and end up getting themselves into trouble.

I've got lots of time in both the C152 and PA38 and I found the PA38 to be the better aircraft all round. As I said you can use both for NAV's, but the extra width of the PA38 makes it a bit more pleasant on the 2-3 hour NAVs.

If you stay away from schools located at class D airports you will save money straight away as the cost of running a school at these airports is higher.

P2008: $275 dual Pa38: $295 Dual C172: $348 If you want to move across to GA earlier you can do the NAVs in the PA38. When I did my PPL back in the early 90's I did most of my NAVs in the PA38 and C152. When I was instructing I would recommend to my students to do the same to save them money.

Air Queensland at Redcliffe is a RAAus/GA school. They use a 2013 Tecnam P2008 for the RAAus training with GA training is done in PA38s, C172s and a C182. Flying with them all Redcliffe Aeroclub is far cheaper than any school at Archerfield. Try to avoid talking to junior instructors when asking about licence requirements /conversions, as most of them are employed casually and are paid by the flight hour. So the majority will say you need to do more hours than the regulations require. (note I'm a former Instructor).

After start up at YCDR thus afternoon the pilot ran it for around 15-20 mins with occasional increases in power. There were some unusual engine sounds, but they could be normal sounds for the Russian engine. Photo attached of it on the ground, just after engine start today.

I was at YCDR this afternoon, and took some photos of the aircraft just before it departed.

Someone posted a link on one of the threads that contained some of the submissions.