Birdz Dowit

I don't think it was intended as sage advice. I think it was just a coy way of telling me a few things: a)You assume all pilots are like all the ones you've met over the years – not all of them are conservative or profession. b) Judging by his actions, the pilot in the story is a half-wit. c)Even though you are my customer and you might spend thousands of dollars in my school, if you turn out to be idiotic or crazy or similar, you will not be endorsed. At least that's how I took it. I think I see your point, Nev, not only will I resist making such judgements on flight crew, I should always remember not to think these things out loud. For now, I am definitely very much unqualified to make any judgements about others. I suppose I've kind of transposed that 'birds do it' conversation into a kind of 'fridge-magnet' stuck somewhere in my mind as a somewhat amusing way to highlight something very serious. Maybe that's why my internal compass hasn't been working properly lately. I hope to be a pilot some day but not to be that pilot.

BTW, The name I chose after a few moments of consideration is an echo of a resent conversation. One of the pilots told a hair raising story that took place years ago. I couldn't quite get my head around how someone far more skilled and knowledgeable than I could do such a fool-hardy thing. Many of those present encouraged me in my assessment. The CFI said something like this to give me the missing piece of the puzzle I was working on. He said: “you don't have to be smart to fly a plane. Birds do it and look how tiny their brains are. We'll try to teach you to bet smart all the time.”

yes, thanks. I'll give that a go. I don't expect to be magic at this from the start. I am trying to let this come together in its own time. It is just unnerving for everything to be happening so fast (at this stage) and not really be sort of following. I suppose its a bit like watching a Movie thriller with the dialogue in another language, you are always behind the plot. I would just be happy to observe intelligently until I have the skills to fully participate.

they're miss-typed. sorry. . . . . All iIn answer to all. Thanks, I will have to chill and just take baby steps.

to nev, I think what you said seems to fit. I should just come left a bit and chill. I just thought there might be a quick fix and they won't let me use any of the runways at Kingsford-Smith Airport. I suppose I'll crack it eventually.

Maybe I didn't explain right. There's a 500mm wide target infront of the shrubs at each end. I'm guessing that tey're technically the over-shoot(s). I'd watched heaps of Youtube and read a heap of stuff so I've always looked to the distant marker. But the instructer feels my alignment is wrong. I know I can't expect to be proficient too soon but I'll say it like this. If the plane was chocked at the last point of take-off and I (an non-retarded 50 year tradesman of 35 years experience) and my instructor were strapped in our places. He would say probably: 'see, we're about half a plane too far right'. And I what probably say humbly: ' I must be looking off to that marker wrong because I would say we're about 6 inchs too far your way". As a matter of fact, we had a conversation almost exactly like that after I parked the Jab in the Lines and shut down on Sunday.

ah. . . . no lines under bum on grass. I don't want to be a smart arse straight off but sometimes you have to play the cards you're deal.

hello all, I am very new to cockpits. I have only 2.5 TIF hrs to put in my log book when it arrives with my RA-Aus Student Lic. I'm flying off a grass RWY in W/Sydney (Au) 900m x 30m in a Jabiru J120. Although I don't expect to posses any great skill I'd like to be a bit better at keeping centred on the run to lift off. I think I'm ok to half speed and then I can feel the instructor moving us left. He told me I was pretty good at compensating for the engine torque but the paralex error just becomes a problem. He was saying that there should be a sight line on the 'dash' that passes thru a point on the engine cowl for a psudo gun sight. And I'm saying: 'wouldn't the front sight have start a couple a couple of inches in from the edge of the cowl and slide into toward the spinner as we neared the end marker????' And that point he let me off the hook because of a look on my face. I'm sure he's right but I have a block when trying to visualise how it could or should work as I close on the end marker. Can someone point to a graphic reprentation or explain what got through to them?