Mazda

Personally I'd say taildragger. There's no nosewheel to dig in or collapse in rough or soft conditions. I think you'll find many traditional STOL aircraft are taildraggers.

It's very odd though, isn't it? I wonder how many rated pilots there are in the country who could take it? From the article it looks like it was owned by the guy who was killed doing aerobatics without any aeros training?

Very good Ian!!

That's great news Matt! :thumb_up: (And happy birthday to Kaz!)

It reminds me of that Richard Bach story. Richard was leading a two ship and was distracted by a minor technical problem. His wing man casually asked if the intention was to fly into the hill in front of them. In the story it sounded as though if Richard had said yes, the wing man would have gone in too! However Richard had just been distracted, and the question from the other pilot saved his life. Asking for clarification doesn't hurt.

'High cockpit gradient' is a term used when the Captain (or leader in this case) has significantly more experience than the other crew. It has led to numerous incidents and accidents because the young inexperienced crew think that the experienced Captain must know what he's doing and shouldn't be challenged. It's now a known human factors problem and I think most multi-crew operations try to address this. I think this has implications for us too because anyone can make a mistake. One thing that worries me sometimes is blind acceptance of ATC instructions. Of course we comply with ATC instructions normally, but if something doesn't seem right or you can't cope with their request, say so. You are the one up there in the aircraft. I'm still haunted by that terrible fatal crash in the UK involving a 16yo solo student who was given instructions from ATC that he didn't understand, then he was held, then cleared, then told to orbit on final to allow something faster to get in. That poor student couldn't cope and paid for that with his life.

Wing down into wind. Think of it as a normal wing down crosswind landing, just slip more as required.

You could always do a nav to Camden!

Well done!

Ian you are fortunate to be nearby! :thumb_up:

Graham the gliders seem to have a bit of a problem with circuits - the go arounds are a bit difficult!!! ;) The gliders operate independently of the fixed wing. They have their own grass strips and they operate to the south of the field, while the runway direction of the power runways keeps you clear of the gliders. Have a good read of the Sydney Basin guide for Camden before you fly in. It has really good information which is easy to understand. Read the ERSA too but the Sydney Basin guide gives practical advice. If the tower is active, get the ATIS then fly in from one of the reporting points. I'd suggest Bringelly, Mayfield, or The Oaks. The southern ones of Menangle and Picton mean you have to fly through the gliding area, so you are often asked to track via the Oaks or Narellan anyway. If you are at Mayfield, you'll probably be asked to join on base and report at 2 miles. Stay at 1,800 feet until you are told you given a sequencing instruction (eg "Number 2, follow the Cessna on final") then you can descend. From Bringelly, you'll either join downwind for 06 or join upwind or final for 24. You'll probably be asked to fly to Oran Park and report there. From the Oaks, you'll join upwind or final for 06, or downwind for 24. If the tower is not active, you must do 3 legs of the circuit and straight-ins are not permitted, so the best way to join is at circuit height (1300) on mid downwind. There is no dead side at Camden due to the gliders and cross strip. There's often traffic so you can get circuit direction and there is an AWIS when the tower is not operating.

Steve, I think you could quite happily drop in to any of the places at Camden and be welcomed. There are lots of things to see and much 'hangar flying' to be done. I think you are finding out the real danger at Camden. (It has nothing to do with near misses!) The big problem is that it is such a great place, and everyone is so friendly, that you plan to drop in for just a few minutes and end up staying all day! I've even known people to then be offered a place to stay for the night. The next morning you watch the balloons and a few aeros, and before you know it lunch time arrives. Then someone suggests you stay for a BBQ lunch, and someone else is doing a nav and has a spare seat that afternoon ... So beware of the danger! Once you start going to Camden, it is very difficult to escape.

Steve, I'm really pleased that you enjoyed Camden so much. My OH was one of the three in the circuit when you came in - he waved to you when he taxied past and you were at the bowser. (He says the Gazelle is the wrong yellow for attracting bugs!)

I wish I had known because I was there!! Let me know next time you head into Camden and I'll say hi. It might seem daunting but really it is not, the controllers are VERY friendly and helpful (unless there is the odd one from out of town) so if ever you are unsure, just talk to them and they will help you. I love the place. There's always something interesting going on, and the field itself is quite a pretty place compared to many airfields. What about those flying ant bugs? Maybe it was just me. They flocked to my yellow aircraft and left the boring white Cessnas alone. They must have thought she was a flower! (Either that or they know a good aircraft when they see it!)

Great news Matt, about time you did some aeros and formation! (But if you had stayed a bit closer maybe you could have done some flying up here with someone who flew things a bit more interesting than Macchis! ;))

I flew in there in 2000 so that might not be much use! No problems though.

That's interesting Kaz! I'll have to remember that as it is a very similar airframe to mine. The Victa manual says it is OK to fly with the canopy open below 70 knots but I haven't tried it.

The aircraft I've owned have had canopies. I love them. The visibility is fantastic (which is a safety feature) and it makes you feel like you really are flying - up there in the sky, not enclosed in a box like a car. If you've read "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance" it says something about car drivers looking at the world as though through a TV, and bike riders being in the world. It's a bit like that. Sliding canopies can open on the ground for instant air conditioning. Some can open in flight too (at least at certain speeds - mine is OK below 70 knots). I'm wary of hinged canopies because I've known of people losing them, either if they are left open on the ground in a decent wind, or if they have forgotten to latch them before take off. My aircraft does have a roll cage and I've examined the wreckage of one that did crash and flip over. The canopy smashed on impact, the roll cage bent but held, and the occupants got out safely. They now have another aircraft of the same type and say that roll cage saved their lives. This type also has a centre stick so there is no control column or stick to worry about during impact. Do you think a canopy and roll cage would be safer (or less safe) than a low wing cabin aircraft if they both flipped over? I also know someone who flipped over in a real "bubble" type canopy aircraft, and he ducked before impact. He was OK and said he thought that ducking might have saved his life, so remember that one! His canopy smashed on impact too. I wouldn't like to get a bird through the canopy though (as appears happened in that QLD accident) due to the loss of lift.

I'm told that at the time Arthur Pape worked on this it allowed pilots to go up to CPL. I don't know if changes since then allow ATPL. You could check with CASA (or with Arthur Pape who I think is still practising in Geelong). I spoke to a military pilot who said colour blind pilots will not pass a military medical and perfect colour vision is essential operationally.

Dracer it used to be very difficult but a Doctor by the name of Arthur Pape did a lot of work to have colour blind pilots accepted. I do know colour blind GA pilots are now permitted but I'm not sure what class of medical they are given.

I would if there were more airports around Sydney!! Instead I have up to a 2 hour commute by car.

True, it's really not that daunting and a beautiful place with lots of interesting aircraft.

Great news!

There's always good information on this site! I was not aware of Maptrax so thanks very much for the information. Do you use this with a PDA or laptop on board as a sort of electronic flight bag? Not so long ago I was at an Airservices public seminar and they mentioned that they would be making charts available online. They also said they are planning some new double sided VTCs, with information on the back that is an updated version of sections of the local guides. For example, in Sydney it could show Victor 1 (with photos), the lane of entry etc. I use the AirNav VFR software which includes the Airservices charts. When you use the software you plan on these charts and can print out the chart with your track and any notes you make, plus flight plans, flight schedule, fuel caculations etc. The people at Airservices said the double sided charts would go to AirNav etc.

I might go, the flying weather doesn't look good. We might even take the boat out on the Harbour and watch from there.