metalman

Had a nice long answer ,,,can't be bothered really

I know there are other issues behind the scenes with this but we have two attitudes going here, one, that we should expect and get high quality instruction ,but, not pay much for it. I charge out at $90 per hour in my workshop, most car dealers are higher, any sort of professional will be well over my hourly rate why do we expect a flying instructor to work for less ,because its fun,,,the view is good,,,it is still a business and still has stuff to pay just to keep the doors open , I've been made aware of some of the background here so I'm talking more widely ,we all want the best training we can get ,champagne training shall we call it ,,,,but on lemonade money! I don't know many people who would give their very best ,pay for their own training, and then work for $5-600 a week because we deserve to be able to fly cheaply. I looked at doing a GA instructors rating but being past the point of getting into a poorly paid job fliying charter I thought about instructing, I enjoy teaching ,I love flying and I thought I would do well at it ,,,,,for $35 k a year,,,,it would cost nearly that for the CPL and the FI rating ( along with a NVFR) WTF , I take my hat off to the guys n gals who do it ,with passion ,professionalism and pride,,,,I may still do it but it will be when I don't have to rely on the dosh to feed and house my family ,so please don't be so high n mighty about wanting quality on crap money

I don't know all the details here but I do know there's a constant issue in the aviation world about pay rates and the cost of getting trained against what it's possible to earn, now a cleaner on a mining based job would be on pretty damn good money, we've all heard the stories of huge money for pretty unskilled workers. I had an engineering shop about 3 hours south of Gladstone and it was bloody hard to get staff due to the mining industry, as a result we just about went broke trying to compete. So why is it such a travesty that a business that is targeting the mining sector excess' not make hay while the sun shines,,,I'm sure they're wages will be higher than other coastal towns simply because any instructor who has half a brain could get much better dosh else where, or do we continue down that road of paying people who are pretty highly skilled sh1t money " because they love flying", there maybe other issues that I'm not aware of but I reckon if they're servicing an area where the average wage is north of a hundred grand then good luck fellas I hope you succeed

Is that an old photo MC, it looks like a stack a few years back at orchid beach,,,,if its current then it looks like a rough place to take a Tupperware aircraft. Landed there a few times ,it has the potential to bite if your not on top of it all

Mmmmmm, imagine that,,,,drooling

Vely rubbery

I haven't heard anyone ,ever, blame the aircraft for the crash,,,the pilot I'm not sure about . The problem is the issues with the airframe that were uncovered after, your not the first person to have problems with a product or service ,it happens to everyone at some point. Aircraft are just more critical in some of the methods and standards we have to employ, I hope ,for your sake, as an Aussie company you can get past this and regain a place in our aviation scene.

I have blue eyes and I sometimes fly on cloudy days , it explains s why I sometimes look like I've been shot down when I arrive at an airport ;-)

Welcome mate, and the important tag got me reading it, and posting ,,,,,

http://www.casa.gov.au/ADFiles/piston/rotax/2013-0055-E.pdf I would be checking this AD

oh, I never said the sneaky buggers hadn't got at me ,,,once,,, got the stained undies to prove it,,thats how I know their shifty tactics, seriously, I let myself get there and it wasn't inadvertant, it was a stupid mistake and I was lucky rather than skilled

Was at the aeroclub the other night when someone mentioned inadvertantly flying into a cloud, WTF, was it chasing you around the sky cause your meant to be either 5000-8000 metres away from it ( he was above 3k) so either he was doing crap he should or these things are on the hunt for us,,,,, be careful out there folks you could be a target for a cloud with a grudge!

Had a bit of time in one a few years back , I noticed if you we're slow on final it came down like a house brick, bang on the numbers it was fine , but get a few knots slow and it was on the back of the drag curve real easy. I'm 6'3" and found the spar a bit annoying to keep looking under, other than that its a nice AC , good performer and nicely built.

You know your a weekend pilot when you work all week under clear blue skies only to sit there weeping into your Friday beers as the wind picks up, the clouds roll in, the rain starts to fall and the forecast in 5 knots variable , cavok,,,,,,FOR MONDAY

I'll look at the lock thing , it's done it a few times and I've turned it off and then restarted it to get it going again

I got a few of their free plans recently, they look quite neat, I've got a few things on the go so it'll be a while before I get to one , I haven't got the types in front of me but there's one that'll take an 80 HP rotax,,,that would be nice I think, I've never had anything to do with the 2strokes so I'd go for a four stroke more for my comfort , Wokbat, do you get around to any of the local flying ,I like to have a look at your rocket?

I always have a map, and a GPS ,,,and an iPad with ozrunways,,,,the map has never failed me,,not even once ( although I have failed the map ) the garmin 495 has never failed me ,although I look at the little basta2d with distrust , the iPad with ozrunways is a toy and nothing more, I have it and I look at in flight but it freezes up regularly and needs a restart often enough to be considered as a novelty and nothing more,,,,,in my opinion

As with most of these things it's often some other motive, aircraft aren't really that noisy once they're though 7-800 ft ,an aircraft in the circuit wouldn't rate a second look in my opinion noise wise. We have a house near our field that we keep clear of, it happens to be about the spot where the FI pulls the power for engine failure simulations, old girl was convince that every second aircraft was going to crash into her house!

Had a good look over the tecnam taildragger at Avalon,,,really nice ,but the elevator is so close to the ground, it might cop it a bit in rough strips or off airport stuff,,,,,I'd have one though!

I reckon any plane looks better as a tail dragger, I'd say that loooong savannah nose would be hard to see around. Would be interested to see if the take off and landing distances are different to the tricycle model

Thanks for the flying lesson, although it was a tongue in cheek comment you should go public with your awesome lessons, maybe start at morrabbin where there's a restriction on using certain Cessnas , perhaps sit at the end of the runway collecting marks and then hold group classes , or you could grow a sense of humour , cya

Hehehe,,,that's funny,,,,a C185 being quiet on take off,,,,I love that howl they make,,,,I even like watching the ground dwellers clutching at their ears as I roar overhead,,,,yeh I know I could wind of a few revs ,but damn they just sound so frigg3n good! Bloody world has gone mad with all this ar5e kissing, big issue is when some sleazy developer fronts up and the council is already anti aircraft it's almost a done deal before they even hand over the bulging brown envelopes!

With the "new"wet season in QLD now 70 hours will be good for about 8-10 years anyway ;-) Good to hear mate, have to catch up at some flying around the place, I'm missing Natfly this year but am hoping for AUSFLY !!

Relax ,I wouldn't have half as many hours logged if I could hold a heading ;-)

exactly my initial point,, the cost of anything has no meaning unless it has some sort of reference point,,,which may explain why it's dearer to learn in a mining town as opposed to a small country town,,,the market will decide what people will pay , the guys in Gladstone for example, could travel a couple of hours south to Maryborough or north to Rocky for cheaper flying,,,but if they choose to stay they'll pay,,,and if the itch is bad enough people will find a way to scratch it ,regardless of the cost!