Nightmare

I did mine in about 39 hours, but I did a silly thing, I changed my flying school 10 hours into my training. In hindsight, it wasn't a bad thing, as I experienced different aircraft, instructors and airfields and areas. That can't be a bad thing.

Hi and welcome S.

Lucky you, you have power to your hanger!

I had an emergency in flight in the circuit area once. I always have my radio tuned to the area frequency on the standby channel. I had an oil hose burst losing all oil pressure. It happened so quickly. I didn't have engine failure but I knew I had to put her down quickly, with a very dicey go-around option, the more I idled her, the more likely I was going to save my engine. I was just too busy flying the plane to get the call in. I did make my mandatory calls to land on the CTAF though. I guess the fact that it was an emergency didn't quite sink in til after the incident. All my actions were automatic, and for that I thanked my flying instructor for drilling it into me.

If you suspect you've found a piece of an aircraft from an accident, have you contacted the FAA or NTSB? If not, you should do so at your earliest convenience. It may unlock some answers to some tragedy and provide closure to friends and family of those affected.

There was a story that just aired on Nine News. It was good to see him just the way I remembered him.

And that was the point of my answer, if we self regulate and show that we're complying with the regs, then the amount of testing will remain low. If we do have an incident involving a pilot affected by something, watch the instances of testing increase. Nev, I can't recall anyone being affected either, and that is a testament to the quality of our pilots IMO. However that doesn't mean it couldn't happen, and the chances of that increases significantly when you add alcohol or drugs into the equation.

If you're alluding to comparing our government to the Nazi one of Germany, I think you're way off track. I am simply against anyone under the influence getting into the cockpit and piloting an aircraft. I know it's dangerous, so I support the govt that we all elected, to stop such action. I feel for the family of people who have been killed on the road by drunks behind the wheel. There is the potential to involve "other" people in an aviation accident, planes have been known to impact with buildings and property and hurt others in the past. We fly over all sorts of things and people, all of which could be damaged by our actions or in-actions.

I work for the government, and our motto and work ethic is "Protect the community" I'm sorry SSCBD but we start from being trusting, then go from there. In the 3 years I've been flying I have never been tested by CASA officials for drug or alcohol use, and I think that's testament to how well our industry has complied with the rules. I think you'll find that regularity of checks corresponds to the incidents involving pilots affected by drugs or alcohol. With road vehicles, I think you'd find a similar increase in road side testing, in response to increasing incidents involving drivers affected by drugs or alcohol. If we can't self manage, then expect the government to get involved, as they should, as there is not only the potential of the drunk to harm themselves but also for them to harm others. Besides, if you have been compliant to the legislation, and that legislation was drafted to protect all members of the public, you have nothing to fear.

I say keep the drunkies and the junkies out of the air. Well done CASA. Spot checks like this just show we can be trusted doing the right thing

Don't get bogged down too much, as far as the information is concerned. Visit a school, or call them, and book a TIF(Trial Introductory Flight).

Hi there Louis and welcome! The most difficult step in learning to fly is the first one. All the best and keep us up to date.

Just do it. The most difficult step in becoming a pilot is the first one. Book that TIF at your chosen flying school and start living your dream.

Hi and welcome smatt! Knowing your limitations is the start of good airmanship, always err on the side of caution when making decisions. That way you live to fly another day.

If you are fit enough to hold a drivers license then you are fit enough to fly RAAus. That is the medical standard to fly under your RPC, with a few exceptions such as heart conditions, diabetes, and a few others. Also bear in mind that you will be undergoing Human Factors training and exams to better refine that standard.

I fly out of Coominya and learned to fly there at Coominya Flight Training. I'd say it is the most economical place to attain your RPC, but it's a fair way west of Brisbane. North side, you would probably want to look at Caboolture Aerodrome, there are several flight schools there. Also look at Redcliffe, there's Fly-Now and the Redcliffe Aero Club that does flight training, plus maybe more. Further north, there's Caloundra and Sunshine Coast airports with flight schools there. Also worth a look in would be Archerfield Airport, on the southside, but worth it for the new controlled airspace endorsement just offered to RPC holders operating out of there.

You are right Nev, it's just the economics that I was commenting on, and of course this can be offset in a syndicate situation. And of course, everybody's financial situation is different. I would love a C206, but alas, mine doesn't allow me to at this point.... There is Lotto I guess

Also, as far as the costs go, be aware that the fuel burn of a C206, according to trusty Google is between 50-72L/hr, which is significantly higher than my little plane's 12L/hr fuel burn. So if the costs of fuel are at least 5 times higher, you can expect other costs to be similarly proportionally higher. It may be worth visiting a local airport/airfield and seeing if you can talk with a C206 owner, if you can't get to chat with one on here. You could consider joining a syndicate where you'd share the costs, with other pilots.

I know that the average hourly rate for flight training is significally lower going RPC, and yes, when you go to upgrade, you would probably need to do approximately 5 hours on the more expensive and bigger aircraft for familiarization and the flight test. But if you did the 30 or so hours at the cheeper rate (RPC), and your XC endorsement, and any other endorsements done through RAAus, it all crosses over when you get your RPL. So yes, I say it's well worth investigating this path as a more cost effective way to achieve your goals.

Hi and welcome RA Aus training to get my Recreational Pilot Certificate (RPC), cost me around $10000 with X-Country endorsement. It was about $200 per hour, but you can expect from $200 to $250/hr as the norm. Lessons were generally 1 hour each. I did them at the rate of 1 lesson every week or fortnight as funds permitted. To upgrade to the CASA Recreational Pilot License (RPL), to fly the larger aircraft, would require some more training, a flight test and maybe some more familiarization in the larger aircraft, plus a class 1 or 2 medical at the very least. The benefit of going RPC then RPL would be significantly lower costs for the bulk of the training, ie the hire rates for the smaller aircraft. I own a 2 seat Jabiru LSA 55, which I purchased for just under $30K. My fixed costs work out at around $175 per fortnight, which includes insurance, hanger fees, rego, licence fees, and any other costs that I will have to pay whether I fly her or not. Then my running costs are about $50 per hour of flight time, which includes servicing costs, prop replacement, engine overhaul or replacement costs, and any other costs associated with flying the plane. Then I have my fuel costs, which are under $30 per hour, I have a fuel burn of about 12L/hr. You're looking at a larger aircraft so I'm thinking the costs could be somewhat higher.

Hi and welcome Clint. tell us more.....

Hi Sam and welcome. The nice thing about aviating is that everywhere in Australia is fairly local for us

Hi comet and welcome

I called the owner/operator at Coominya Airfield shortly after the incident and let him know how I was involved and what I witnessed, and invited him to tell authorities of me, so I doubt RAA got my contact details from here. I was shaken a bit, feeling for Danny's lost aircraft, and his terrifying experience, but I'm ok. He's the one that'll need the help and support in the aftermath of this incident and the ensuing investigation.

I took your advice and wrote my record of the incident within 24hrs. I had a call from RAAus, they were interested in talking to me about it. I was then able to email them that copy of that written record. I hope it helps them.