rrogerramjet

From the grapevine.... Someone I know has been asked to write a supposition on what occurred... I note clearly this is complete hypothesis, based on general knowledge of the industry, assumptions and thoughts. I don't have any details on the accuracy of these statements, however it seems feasible to me... Boeing had issued a notice of stress fractures on the top of the fuselage (around the aerial?). Malaysia Airlines chose to not act on the advice as it was not a compulsory notice. The supposition is , this part of the aircraft gave way resulting in slow but steady decompression, this also dislodged the GPS and comms for radar identification, thus the airplane 'disappeared'. Auto pilot, without GPS, did it's best to fly on but slowly and surely dove the plane into the ocean some many hours from it's last known/reported position. Guess is to the East, as to the West it probably would have been picked up again on radar, and/or hit land. Because of slow and gradual decompression, both crew and passengers lulled into a slow, progressive sleep. The plane flew on for some hours until it hit the ocean and has sunk, some thousands of miles from the current search area. A hypothesis, nothing more. Ramjet.

Thanks guys, mystery solved. Be interesting to know what 'work' they we're doing...training I guess. edit: just read the wiki, still called Hudson as that was the first aircraft used by that squadron. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._32_Squadron_RAAF I've learnt something about aviation today ! Well two things actually....don't try to fly into YJIN in anything less than fine weather ! There is no way I could have dropped the J170 in there today.... cheers Ramjet

Hi all, Taking a short nav from YPFT to YJIN today I heard upon 'Hudson 01' doing some 'work' above 7000ft around the Snowys and Lake Jindabyne, I didn't want to natter on the channel, but it sure left me wondering...a Hudson still flying? Surely not? I meant to ask the CFI when I got back (he's got all the local knowledge) but got distracted with post flight ops , putting the plane away etc. Any ideas? An historic flight up from Nowra? cheers Ramjet

Closer to home... I've actually seen this occur out in the Central Desert...amazing and totally overwhelming. enjoy Ramjet

I'm a newly endorsed RA, but immediately noting the restrictions on my flight planning with regard to not holding a CTA. It seems the bigger issue is not so much aircraft type(s) but limitation on use of controlled airspace. Why is there no resolution to the issue of RA pilots gaining CTA endorsement as part of these new measures. I'm not au fait with ICAO, which CASA seems to be leveraging to indicate these new rulings are based on some sort of 'international equivalence'. So, is there anywhere else in the world that an LSA pilot can utilise CTA with correct training and certification? If so, then it would seem there is still a big gap in the new CASA certifications. To this end, I rang a training facility and they immediately pressed me to go PPL, which would resolve this issue. Why do I need to obtain a completely different licence in a completely different aircraft just to have the ability to traverse CTA? It really seems quite absurd. To use a loose analogy, I'm being asked to get my taxi drivers licence in order to ride my moped (for which I'm already licenced) on the freeway, otherwise I'm confined to the back streets to get around. Bewildered, Ramjet

Hi Biggles, sorry been busy flying :) answer: no. onto the cowling from the piston.

Things to look out for number 101: When your plane has a new slippery looking livery....

Hi @@Ultralights Yes, yes and yes. Didn't know there'd be so many of them with a comp on though...we were in contact with their ground ops and had most of them all on visual before we even took off from Corryong. @@ianwells On occasion one has to fly over less than perfect terrain to reach a destination, the earth is not an endless patchwork of perfect emergency landing areas, unfortunately. I would have thought that navex instruction is to teach you to do it as safely as possible, not instil some sort of unfounded fear about what you can and can't do with the freedom of flight. Safety first is the key issue. Difficult terrain was crossed both times at pretty much the shortest distance possible minimising the time over rough country. Despite this experience I'd still do it again tomorrow. This was a well considered and exercised lesson, which had a modicum of luck in it's outcome..that's all. end of story. I chose to do it and fully understood where we were going and what we were doing.

Hi @@cooperplace, I have the massive total of 30.9 dual and 7.4 solo between the 120 and 170. <..I'll leave the above comment in place to demonstrate my limited flying experience..> @@cooperplace, you mean the engine hours not my flying hours? (doh!) Just over 850 from memory... Alf, I don't know what an 'R' engine is? Can you elucidate?

Hey Matty - double entry in Tattslotto this weekend for me, it's my lucky week ! Funnily enough I'd reminded myself to get a Powerball ticket for last night as I drove to the airport but after all the drama of the day I completely forgot. @Maj - We've actually discussed this on and off in the past - how come the automotive industry can make car engines that run for 1000's of hours even with poor treatment and servicing, but somehow Jab engines appear frequently in incident reports of engine failure ? Reminds me of the fellow many years ago who on passing my L series Forester told me had an EA81 in his plane...I didn't believe him at the time but have since found out it's true....those EA81/82 motors are very reliable. Apparently the LAME had already refit those bolts according to Jab technical advice to avoid such issues (I really don't know the full details on this aspect). In my VERY limited experience I've already become a bit suspect on the Jab motors. It did take a little while to fully digest the facts later in the afternoon that 15 minutes either side of that landing we could have been in some serious trouble.... Anyway, I've had my close call already so with chaos theory and statistics in play, I should have some trouble free flying for a few hundred hours yet.....

Well what an adventure.... My second navex training (YPFT-YADY-YCRG-YJIN-YPFT) and we were going to overfly Corryong enroute to Jindabyne when I spied the huge asphalt strip and having never landed on asphalt before I asked my instructor to come in for a full stop landing. I pulled off a nice landing (if not the tidiest circuit) and no sooner had we taxied and shut down, my instructor jumps out and says "ooh, have a look at this" - there is oil coming out the RHS cowling and down the fuselage under the door. We assess it's probably only just occurred as the oil hasn't made it's way right along the fuselage and the Ts & Ps were all definitely in the green on downwind. Off with the top cowling and oil sprayed everywhere and dripping heavily onto the bottom cowling of the oil cooler. We can't tell really what's happened but certainly conclude that we aren't going any further in this thing today. So it's a lunch stop at Corryong whilst we wait for the rescue party. Phone call to base, the J170 and the J230 come out to rescue us a while later with the LAME onboard who spies a blown cylinder bolt on No.1(?). Yep, it's definitely cactus. We tie the plane down and I bravely continue my navex in the 170 whilst the CFI and LAME fly back in the 230 to discuss repair options. We had only just come across the ranges from Adaminaby and were going to continue straight back over Khancoban and across the main range to Jindabyne - all over designated remote areas and some very nasty tiger country. It was only damn good fortune and lucky timing that I called a full stop at Corryong and the engine decided to give up when it did, or I (and my instructor) may not be sitting here writing this today. As an added navigational bonus I had to fly through a random fleet of hang gliders competing in the Corryong Cup, they were all at different heights and scattered up and down the range catching thermals - pick a hole at an altitude between a few gliders and zoom through it, 3 to the left about 1000 mtrs, 3 to the right about 1200 mtrs, 1 over there , 1 over here.... and one just above us about 500ft as we pass through. Hope they were ok with that :-) CFI is filing an incident report and I've got a 'close call' story to tell so early in my flying career ! Hopefully I'll get my little incident write up in Sports Pilot in the next issue or two and I'll frame it for posterity and a good reminder of how lucky we were !! btw beautiful country across those ranges, really quite spectacular. Looking forward to my next navex very close to nav and pax endorsement now !! Fly Safe ! R

I think this (awesome day out, lucky you!!) amply demonstrates a gap in RA-Aus training. If I'm unable to understand/experience a spin, dive or roll how am I expected to respond to these? The advice that "oh, you don't ever want to do that" doesn't provide me with any capability to resolve unintended attitudes. Turning crosswind just today I got a big thermal gust and the advice from CFI was 'on a really hot sunny day if you get a bigger thermal you'll be flipped real quick'.....which is not great recovery advice I must say. Well done to both the organisers and the pilots for having a go at some 'serious' flying. Hopefully I'll be able to do same one day.

My last flight was my last as a Student Pilot landing at YPFT !! At times ( usually involving hard landings, shaky emergency practices, crosswinds and updrafts upsetting my originally perfect final approaches....etc. etc. etc..) I really thought I'd never get there. Landed just before 1200 today after waiting quite some time since 0730 for the clouds to clear before I went on a relatively stress free mock test first, followed shortly thereafter by an almost direct replica of the flight I'd just been on but suddenly it was hugely unnerving and high stress !! Off to the RA-Aus shopfront tomorrow to get a new bit of plastic with "NW" and "HP" printed on it. Am I a 'pilot'? Ask me again in 1000 hours....then I may just possibly be able to answer almost truthfully " I think I'm getting the hang of it."

Hi, I too am confused, I don't subscribe to this magazine. I only just asked last week what folks thought of the future of RAA and whether I should continue with my training. Now, without any 'hard data' I am a little concerned. Can anyone provide specifics of what the Pres/GM has stated in the mag and whether it explicitly states anything about the subordination/demise of RAA certification back into CASA? Thanks Rich

Hi Hongie, I could be up your way soon enough, that's where the ms. folks live ! I had a chat with someone else this morning and he also confirmed I should just continue as planned. I'm flying out of Polo Flat, I'm finding the variability of the air and strip adds a nice challenge and some good experience.

..err, hang on that's Buzz Lightyear. 6.5 hours into my Ra-Aus in a J170, thought I'd better join the community. Hopefully it will be a long association ! Whilst I'm here...and pls point me to the right thread if I'm off course.... ...theres a lot of conjecture about Ra-Aus vs. the upcoming RPL, I can't see myself moving beyond Jabs for a while yet. Should I be concerned/considering the options post December when the RPL is launched? I don't want to get 15 or 20 hrs by December just to find I perhaps should have taken a different track. It doesn't appear that Ra-Aus will be consumed or usurped by anything in Part 61. Thoughts? Thanks, and hello to all! I've learn't heaps already off these threads. cheers Rich