mnewbery

Caveat: From a legal point of view nothing replaces the POH for the specific aircraft with the matching registration noted in the front. This is the one I used for familiarisation http://www.tristaraviation.com.au/acft_data/Skyfox/Skyfox%20Gazelle%20Handling%20Notes.pdf

http://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore-history-42-blitz-logical-insanity/ Definitely worth a back story listen

http://cyclemate.com.au

....and broke

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I simulated the flight from Canberra to Nowra then Wollongong with varying cloud bases and varying winds plus moderate turbulence. I did this maybe four times mostly at night after a full day’s work. I paid very careful attention to threats and errors in the simulation. The errors I made in the simulator were: 1. Not noting the time the throttle was opened. Seems trivial but when ATC and the wind are favourable you don't get to say what time you were over the top of the airfield, you just Get out of Dodge. Noting the time the throttle was opened on the initial roll will give you a good idea when the flight started. 2. Still not changing tanks or keeping a fuel log. Turns out that is a big deal in a Piper Warrior and changing tanks during a practice forced landing is a big deal too. 3. Getting flustered when an 8 minute leg was more like a 6 minute leg in a GA lane. Getting bored and losing concentration, then not maintaining correct altitude while doing some "heads down" work. This lead to being lost for a few minutes at a time. 4. Not leaning mixture at the top of climb. Not pushing the mixture to rich on descent. 5. Not diverting due cloud. This isn't a problem that the simulator can help with as the cloud base can't be localised only stratified. I did do some diversion practices just to be sure I could, regardless of cloud. What went well: 1. Initial issues with maintaining altitude and heading in moderate turbulence got better with practice. Still not great but getting good enough to pass the PPL (you want consistently better than ±150 feet in simulator turbulence before the PPL exam and preferably ±50 feet to keep something up your sleeve. 2. Whiz wheel, protractor and ruler work on the map and flight log got easier 3. Handling the stationery with one hand and not dropping it got easier 4. I knew the instructor would U/S the ADF the moment I relied on it for anything so I used it less and less. I initially used it as I got tired at the end of the simulation but I knew that was going to be just another crutch to kick out from under me. 5. Most importantly, I knew where all the land marks were. This was going to be critical on the dual navex. More on that in a minute. I did the dual navex on the afternoon of 15th May. The weather was clear in Canberra but scattered tending overcast all the way up the coast, as forecast. We launched late (as often happens in aviation) but the afternoon rush hadn't started yet. I filed for 7500 feet tracking east to Ulladulla (UDA). By Braidwood, still in controlled airspace I asked for 6500 due cloud, got that clearance then began to descend and turn south towards the King’s Highway as the cloud was lower closer to the coast and the lower flatter ground was south. I ended up steering for Bateman’s Bay for two reasons – I knew what it was and roughly how long it was going to take to get there plus I could see it already so I had some time to plan a two leg diversion. It cost me an extra 42 nm (25 minutes in a 3+ hour flight) but the stress was significantly less. At Ulladulla it was overcast, grey and not particularly bumpy. I turned on my landing light so I could be seen but it was pretty quiet as the military had gone home for the day. At 2000 feet I could not quite see the left edge of St George’s basin until I was within 5Nm. Its further inland than that map suggests. An RA-Aus plane – a Sting or a Sling left Wollongong so I descended to 1500 feet but I never saw it going the other way. I suppose it passed us near Coolangatta Mountain. I hadn’t changed the ADF since Canberra and I wasn’t particularly paying attention to it. I tuned the ADF for Wollongong at Kiama just after changed to Wollongong CTAF and made an inbound call. I turned onto the planned heading, only to see that familiar hand reach out and a voice say “That’s just gone u/s”. No problem. I had planned for this (specifically the ADF u/s at Kiama) and the terrain was familiar because I had practised the approach from Kiama to Wollongong in all sorts of strange weather. I turned left a bit further north of the rail line to avoid the hill and set up for a downwind join on to runway 16, just like in the simulator. Having a dirty great red and white 747 sticking out of the airfield helped a lot. After 70 minutes I’d forgotten to change tanks twice. D’Oh! Wollongong was pretty quiet. The weather was looking dreary with a solid overcast hanging above the escarpment like a guillotine … tempting people to enter the valley at their peril. We chatted a lot about how or if getting back to Canberra was feasible and when all of the facts would be known. Beers instead of flying back home that afternoon … hmm. The only real way to decide on the escarpment was to do an overhead departure and see if there was blue sky out the other (western) side, or not. By 3700 feet it was obviously blue sky to the west, no rain in the overcast and little or no wind. So off we went into the area north of Kangaroo Valley and R420A (inactive but we pretended anyway because we were late to the party). I hate flying in valleys. Fortunately, even with the overcast keeping us well below 4000 feet there were plenty more clearings than I expected so I zigged and zagged a bit so I could glide clear of the vertical cliff faces at the very least. The instructor thought this was being un-necessarily cautious so he gave me foggles to take my mind off the scummy weather and terrain outside. It worked and I relaxed into a scan while he worked hard on getting us lost. By the time the foggles came off, the sun was shining again and we were over flat dry land. I did my lost procedure, did my PFL which I still suck at because I’m used to the glide of a Drifter or a C150 not a C172 or a Warrior. But the procedures and check lists were OK. I got the Goulburn CTAF and the Canberra ATIS mixed up because I was tired by then so I pointed us away from controlled air space and got it sorted out before performing the “Hi honey I’m home” ritual with Canberra Approach at Lake Bathurst. I wasn’t the best at maintaining heading or altitude by downwind so I can see how people can fly safely for hundreds of miles only to trash an OK airplane just outside the home airport fence. I got the penalty box (two orbits please) at Lake George South for turning up at rush hour. For giggles and some other reasons not worth mentioning we landed in Canberra with a tail wind and the sun in our eyes. Bad combination. ATC took pity and turned up the VASI which made a huge difference because until then I couldn’t see anything that looked like a place I wanted to land. All I could see were scratches until the four white lights came on. As we descended the sun disappeared behind Mount Anslie and everything got more normal. The landing was uneventful. Emptying the pocket in the back of the right seat, shoving it somewhere it should have already been and replacing it with the stuff I actually needed – maps, ERSA, ruler etc worked well. I still managed to drop one pencil but this time I brought two. Also putting stuff I didn’t immediately need back in to the pocket saved me more than a few times. Why don’t people mention this stuff before the navex training? What the simulator could help with from this flight: Instrument flight (IF) obviously but if you fly a simulator the IF is easy and everything else is hard More spot landing practice for PFLs. For the simulator the PFL will be all the way to the ground and stopped, every time Yet more log keeping and remembering to change tanks with specific emphasis on fuel logs. I still managed to bust my selected altitude twice because I was distracted, just like in the simulator. Next flight is very soon: Canberra, Camden, Bankstown (land) then up to Hornsby and back to Canberra via Victor 1. I’m not sure the simulator is going to be much help with this one at all.

Cancelled in 2015 too, it turns out. I was at Wollongong on Friday and the 747 really sticks out. Anyone know anything about the 2015 Nowra (HMAS Albatross) show and shine?

With intake air and skin cooling, same as a lawn mower. Puts an upper limit on the output but that didn't stop the Corvair engine

It wore out

No. Next try starts May 12th

Harmonic vibration is exciting something. There is an article on this in the April 2015 flight safety mag. Norwegian Partnair PAR394. I'd be checking the engine mounts at the engine and firewall as a start and without further information

Having scattered cloud on the practical would have helped...

Because it's on the exam. If I don't know it I will spend $$$$$, fail an exam and STILL not have a PPL

Another one. If the cloud goes 45 degrees left to abeam left, however long it took in minutes to do that is the distance you were away when you finished timing. So those of us doing 90 knot or 1.5 nautical miles a minute are 3 miles away from that pesky cloud if it takes 2 minutes. 3 nautical miles is 5430 metres

Mine. The bit where it says go and buy a Jeppesen E6B then do the sample questions on time and distance to a VOR station on page 20. Same maths.

5000 metres away is 200 seconds at 25 metres per second, 90km/h or 48KTAS. Double the speed halves the time. If at 48KTAS a cloud appears to move from 45 degrees in front of your left wing to abeam your left wing in more than 100 seconds, it's more than 5000 metres away. If not, it's closer, assuming you are straight, level and cruising. I don't have a PPL and I know this. It's also in my PPL syllabus. Once you know the horizontal distance, going from one hand span above the glare shield to two hand spans is roughly 5 degrees. We know your descent angle is 3 degrees at 100 knots and 500 feet per minute or 48 knots and 240 feet per minute. So if the cloud in front of you goes up the screen by a hand span a minute and it's in front not above you ... Maths. ... At 48 knots it is 400 feet above you. At 100 knots it's 830 feet above you. Excuses for certificated pilots not knowing this? Anyone?

http://casa.gov.au/scripts/nc.dll?WCMS:STANDARD::pc=PC_90008 Visit vfrg.casa.gov.au regularly for updates At the bottom of the web page it says Last updated: 27 March 2015 © 2015 Civil Aviation Safety Authority

I'm looking for a couple of seats from Canberra and back anyone is interested. Either day is fine. I already have an offer to go by car https://www.wingsoverillawarra.com.au 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Saturday and Sunday Air Display Times 11:30 am - 4:30 pm Saturday 10:30 am - 3:30 pm Sunday

I did a 3 hour dual navex at the end of March 2015. Here is a list of my mistakes, in real life: Dropped not one but two pencils on the floor, lost them both. Found three after the flight, instructor was chuffed at that Dropped one clear plastic ruler. Lost it too Didn't change tanks as often as I should have (poor log keeping, less familiar aircraft type) Didn't trust the log I did write, gave up on my destination early only to discover I was where I should have been not where I thought I was Maps and ERSA pages detached from kneeboard, kneeboard slid onto floor. Paper everywhere Poor altitude and heading hold while doing head down work in the cockpit E6B isn't as useful in the baggage hold where it can't be reached Plus, at 6500 feet there was so much haze I couldn't tell the difference between train tracks and roads. Afternoon thermals made trimming almost a waste of time. This was in a Warrior so the side pocket was not only small it already had stuff in it. Next time I'll stow the kneeboard and anything else I'm not using in the pocket behind the seat. Back to the simulator to see what went wrong, how and what to do: I've been doing three turn, two landing navigation exercises every night as time permits, with realistic wind and turbulence. Sometimes its boring but I think it is paying off. I have been practising what the instructor told me in the de-brief. I've been told this before but holding onto a pencil when its not needed is just asking to drop it somewhere you can't reach or see. I need to remember to put it down - not just on top of the map but in a pocket on my person. Note to self: Have shirts with pockets. Stow EVERYTHING I am not immediately using somewhere it can be kept in order and retrieved one handed. I don't use OzRunways for sim work because I need to practise using the E6B - both sides of it. Its gratifying to discover I got the right answer ... because the destination appears more or less where and when its supposed to. Updating the log with new time estimates as ground features are identified is a good sanity check for ground speed and track errors. This needs to be checked with mental math or preferably the E6B. I'm learning to do a lot of stuff one handed like folding maps, drawing then measuring lines with a pencil and doing up the kneeboard. All the while, trying to fly straight and level from the comfort of my kitchen chair. Comforting for the next navex. Don't forget IFR and partial panel in the simulator too. Its not always on the PPL practical exam but it can be. The big one for me is log keeping. I don't normally wear a watch so I put a clock on the desk next to me. A 20 knot wind is not unreasonable for the simulator just make it not all cross wind for the runway you intent to land on. It helps the eye get used to not seeing the track parallel to the longitudinal axis. Sometimes I still mess it up totally like flying a course of 203 instead of 303 degrees then wondering where the really big hills came from, thinking I'm over the left branch of a lake when its actually the right and making an un-needed 1-in-60 track change or flying straight past my destination because I came round a hill and didn't look out the side window (more easy to ignore the side windows in the sim than the petrol burner). Getting lost then fixing it without (or with, your choice) radio navigation or anything other than a paper map, a compass and a clock appears to me to be a worthwhile challenge when eyeing off the PPL practical exam or the RA-Aus XC endorsement. I recently soloed my eighth aircraft type since starting flying training so this is the last thing left to do. After this many years I've given up being in a hurry. I'll settle for being prepared. My next navex is up the coast past Nowra to Wollongong then back over the escarpment to Canberra via Goulburn. In May, in a real airplane. Only then will I know how much time I wasted.

Google "Puddle to Pond"

You mean like trip reports?

Cessna - one or part thereof

Keep an eye out for ads in the RA-Aus members market. Those actively seeking winged custom occasionally advertise there. The ERSA shows AC for airfields that have accommodation. The pilots touring guide can be viewed by subscription from inside a copy of OzRunways or on its own. That will provide a good list of candidates once you know roughly where you are going each night. I've stayed at Narromine and Clifton airfields only

Apparently there was supposed to be a publicly viewable web camera pointing at the bridge next to the Oakey train station. If it is there the feed isn't published. Announcement buried here: http://www.toowoombarc.qld.gov.au/community-services/disasters-and-emergencies/be-prepared/9656-fews?highlight=WyJjYW1lcmEiXQ==

I've been asked to create a web page that lists all of the publicly available web cameras within the vicinity of Clifton YCFN. This is because I am responsible for two at that field. The Lone Eagle Flying School web site has a web cam page where the output can be seen. http://loneeagleflyingschool.org.au/camera-link/ Today I added the road camera at the top of the range facing east. It looked like someone has sprayed the camera with school glue (its actually low cloud, not uncommon). Also I'm looking for a good local (to Clifton) Wunderground feed. I know of one in Clifton township but it hasn't been calibrated for a while and the numbers no longer make sense. If anyone has some good data to share and its closer geographically than Toowoomba or Warwick, please reply or PM me. From myself, Trevor Bange and everyone at DDSAA, thanks in advance