RDavies

Yes, just another case of NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) where some people have too much say in other peoples lives. The horses couldn't give a hoot about a light aircraft in the area.

Yes. Most apparently they can be applied to surfaces which are not totally flat (or curved in one plane). I'm not sure how much curvature they can handle. There are many different types of window tint film so it might be worthwhile speaking to a few automotive window tint experts about just which films will handle more distortion. The alternative is that they will have to be laid in segments. Maybe not ideal from an aesthetics point but it is likely a good installer should do a passable job of blending it in.

Will these turbines be rated with 110% take off or intermittent power as some turbines are? if so, this would allow them to compete on equal terms with the Rotax 915 135hp engine which is only only rated to 135hp on short bursts? It seems quite a few manufacturers are looking at offering Rotax 915 options.

This is a very relevant subject this week where it hasn't been below 40 degrees each day for the last week. Not real great flying weather anyway at this time of year at mid day, but it has been in mid to high thirties even in morning and afternoon. Is there any regulations against getting the top of the line automotive window tints on the canopies? The top of the line modern window tints are good at minimizing heat without being too dark.

It is a few months now since the Gen 4 engine was announced, do you have any new production engines running in customer aircraft yet or are they still too new? Are the HP/performance figures the same as for the Gen 3 engines? How about TBO?

Is there any news or updates on these turbines?

It doesn't matter what activity you do, there will always be some antis with nothing better to do than complain about it. Way too many people out there who complain if people are doing something with their time other than sitting down in front of the TV like they are. They cant stand it that someone else is having more fun than they are. It makes it hard for small businesses to get a start in so many tourism or sporting ventures.

With the proposed weight increases, what sort of current GA planes will this bring enable to be used in RAA? Are there many which just miss out on the 600kg limit but will squeeze into the 752kg limit? I suppose we could end up seeing more use for the new Rotax 915 when it comes out.

Have you been for a TIF yet, or just jumping straight in?

With the possible controlled airspace endorsements for RAA and higher weight limits allowing more choice of planes, hopefully it might increase the amount of RAA clubs and training schools around the country, especially closer to the main population areas.

I am in the same boat. When I was in my 20s I first looked at getting a pilots licence but costs were prohibitive ($5000) for a GA licence at my age. Over the next 25 or so years I thought about if a few times but heard it was around $20000 to get a pilots licence now. I only found out about RAA by chance and had no idea about this side of things. I was surprised when I found I could get a pilots certificate for cheaper than I could 25 years ago. I have told a few of my friends about it and they all thought the same thing, to get a pilots licence (certificate) was only for the rich. Some of my friends have already done a TIF or first lessons 2 months after I found out about it. How many other people out there in my demographic (mid 40s, good job, wife back to work, kids moving out, still got 20 years of work to go) could RAA target if they advertised and got the word out. Getting some schools involved is a great idea. At their age, they likely wont stay in aviation unless they choose it as a career, but if they have a taste of it, then 20 years down the track they will be more likely to return. What other ways can they get the word out to the target demographic? Maybe some newspaper or general interest magazine adds? A few more open, come and try days? A few thousand spent on marketing could give good returns in the future.

OK, as the OP, I did mention RAA, but yes, I would certainly like to read what your thoughts are on recreational GA flying as well. I kind of hope that in a few years I might have a GA licence, but realistically, RAA is where I would likely be spending my time.

Just curious, what do you think will change in the RAA scene in the next few years? What changes or trends do you predict in recreational air craft? Do you think there will be any changes to regulations? Maybe a weight increase? Anything else in the next few years?

It brings back memories of one of my first girl friends while I was still trying to get my numbers up.

This must be the sort of thing "ONE Aircraft" is talking about with their new recreational plane? They are calling it a hybrid system to give an extra 25Hp on take off, but not sure if it de-couples to provide emergency power. The set up looks a little heavy to me.

How long are your stints at work? Where abouts in Asia? At least you will be able to concentrate your training on your leave and hit the books while away at work.

So will you still be complaining about the bone heads in the cockpit now that the roles have changed?

I was in your position only 2 months ago. It gets more fun and more rewarding a few hours down the track when you have learnt the basics and take more control during each flight.

I enjoy watching some of the air line cross wind landings on You Tube. Some of them must have pretty flexible cross wind allowable limits going by the amount the big jets are crabbing along?

I will be in your position in a few months. I hope I nail it as well. Good one.

I know what you mean about microbursts. I have been in a category 5 hurricane in Guam, a category 5 cyclone Yasi in North QLD, but the worst destruction I have seen to large strong trees was less than a month ago in Manilla in Central NSW. There was no damage at all to trees in most of the area, but in a few large separate areas up in the hills it looked like a bunch of D11 dozers had chain cleared the area worse than what I saw after a category 5 cyclone.

What a great use for CR500 engines for those of us who are no longer able to ride one (in my case too many injuries by CR500). A great reliable engine. With long tapered expansion chambers, hanging outside the cowl, they will have a great torque curve. You would only need a CR1000 twin, or CR1500 triple for something the weight of most ultra lights.

I have only recently started in the aviation game and I had expected that if any industry would have switched over to metric, it would have been aviation. Currently only Myanmar, Liberia and USA are the only countries clinging to imperial (Even the USA military started using metric years ago). A few countries do use metric for aviation, do you think Australia (or other countries) will eventually switch to metric for aviation?

Took my first proper lesson today. See, I told my first TIF instructor I would return for lesson and sure enough I did. 25 years later.

Thanks for the links, I have saved some to my favourites. I still like hard copies sometimes so I have ordered a few of the books mentioned. I don't intend to read them all at once but as I get spare time and days off I will do some learning.