Simonflyer

Sounds like a good idea to me. If you wanna get hammered, keep the hell away from a plane.and for some time..I dont care whether your changing the oil or flying an A380. Mates of mine did a few fly aways, and they would do a day on day off policy sharing the flying.The pilot the next day would take the night off from the evening activities the night before and so on so there was a good 24 hours between the juice and being PIC.

Reconsidered! I originally posted something supporting the idea in some way, but I must say that after a bit of thought, and removing my post quickly, it's madness to even consider it. RA = RECREATIONAL AVIATION.Pure, simple and perfect in the simplicity. It's the lack of over technical rules that makes RA so good.Lets keep it that way. If we want to earn cash flying,we can go and get an instructor rating or get a CPL.

Dark Sarcasm..Il be instructing soon.You can let the ladies know.

Hi Scott.. Of course you can..All you need to do is ask around, and most people are happy to have someone with them if they have the room.. Enjoy the journey.Tis a blast!

Yep.. When running your checks you have to actually make sure your doing what your saying your doing..Its should be easy to draw to mind, but not an automatic action without registering what you are actually doing.. Seeing one of Qantas's 737 simulator check captains in action a few weeks ago was really inspiring.They are just so professional, and even though it might seem like overkill to do that in a Tecnam, my plan is to create a really good methodical method to all of my flying(including pre-flight stuff), then hopefully that will keep reducing the chances of accidents or mishaps caused by lack of attention... Perfect example..I forgot to clean the windscreen on a flight a few months ago, and it made the approach into the low sun an absolute pain..any more grit on the windscreen and it could have been a lot worse..

I reckon in the smaller planes you can probably use either method and get away with it, but if you plan to fly something bigger, then get used to flying "attitudes", and use power to go up and down.In the 737 for example, they just hold about 2.5-5 degrees nose high attitude on final and use power to control height(and a bit of speed as well)..Every movement happens a lot quicker in the lighter plane's, but the same aerodymamics apply to everything from a R/C plane to the A380, so in almost all cases i try to use the AoA for Speed, and Power for Up and Down..Just have a read of "stick and rudder".A million year old book on flying that still holds weight in my opinion. And if you plan to fly f14's or the concorde everything is pretty well flown off "Alpha"(AoA), but i dont suggest holding a 15 degree nose up on final in a Tecnam or Jabby!

Hi Guys.. This post is really just a version of the flying/studying journey Ive had so far, and to share my experience's of different things for anyone headed down a similar path just in case it helps.. As of September this year Ive been flying for a year.Ive got about 80 hours in the logbook.Ive passed all my RA AUS endo's(PC,PAX,HP,HF and XC i think) GFPT( theory and prac ) PPL Theory (for the prac test i dont need any flying time, but just a bit of a refresher on big Nav's and CTA) and have commenced CPL Theory.I sit the first subject next week and then they are staggered every 2-3 weeks after that except for Performance which Im allowing as long as it takes..Id like to have all bar Performance and Law finished by Dec/Jan with the last 2 to completed in JAN/FEB. On the flying side of things, I haven't been able to do much lately due to a pretty tough year financially, but its been a blessing in disguise because the only option has been to really knuckle down and get the theory done.From what Ive seen so far this does seem to be a stumbling block for many, and if I had a suggestion it would be to make theory a real focus because you dont want to get to the point where you cant sit a flying exam due to not completing theory.Its not that hard it just takes consistently hitting the books..I also did my flying in blocks.This way I wasnt going backwards with big breaks in between flying.I also did a lot of research on the schools themselves and decided on a great regional school not too far from Melbourne that covered RA and GA as this meant that going on i didn't have to go looking for another school to do my GA flying. I was really fortunate to stumble upon a magazine with good tips on training for military pilots, and one thing they do is repetition of hand movements and rehearse where the hands go for different procedures.People would be convinced I was mad if they saw me do it, but I practice radio calls in the car,all the acronyms, forced landings, prec searches and just about everything else that I can on the ground and before tests I would go sit in the airplane on the ground if it was free and do it there talking myself through it all the way. Im convinced this saved me a lot of time and money in the air, but the basis of all the training is to be safe, so my hope is that should something pretty bad happen Im as prepared as I can be. Ive scored a job as an instructor in a 737 flight simulator(:jump:), and working there I have had to immerse myself in a lot of instrument flying, so even though the hours arent loggable () I am still learning heaps all the time, and Im around heaps of pilots with waaaaay more experience than I so I just pick their brains constantly.A couple of weeks ago the check captain for the Qantas 737 sim came in and had a look and a fly of the sim, and it was really inspiring to watch how he went about it-the professionalism and cockpit organisation he had, and the complete accuracy and control of the plane.Also In there I am still "flying" every day, and that really has been invaluable.Lately the fun thing if we have a break between customers has been to set up ILS approaches in near zero vis at night with a 25 knot xwind! So still no clear idea on where Im headed, but Id say that Il end up getting an Instructor Rating in the GA world but use it to instruct GA and RA and then down the track who knows?.. The thing I like about aviation is the different sorts of work available.Right now I reckon my dream job would be flying a float plane ferrying attractive scandinavian women:big_grin: around the Islands up north, but who knows by the time im qualified.. Theory-Bob Tait all the way and loving it.. Planes flown-Tecnam super echo , Piper archer , Cessna 182 , (Boeing 737-800NG Simulator) Cost-Dont want to talk about it, but nowhere near as painful as if I had done GA all the way.. Still Loving it?- Yup! Gonna stop anytime soon? - Nope..

Go Bob Tait all the way:thumb_up:..You cant go wrong..Im cracking into his CPL,s at the moment and i just find him to be really consistent..The ATC stuff is good for extra knowledge, but only bob can make jokes about working out the end of daylight(probably the most painful process on earth-Or at least to me anyway!)..

Hi Megahertz.. Your forum name wouldnt have anything to do with the footy team the Megahertz would it?I.e Rockdogs vs Megahertz?.. Im probably barking up the wrong tree... Anyhoo.Welcome to the forums..There's a stack of info on here, and plenty of good flying in vic.. Ive done and am doing the RA and GA route, and I cant recommend highly enough the benefits of RA flying, so enjoy.. Cheers SImon

Whether we like it or not RA AUS still is an U/L based organisation...So if we really want to go out and fly heavy beasts we can..In VH aircraft..I think the separation is really good Because the more RA becomes like GA the more costs will rise and the less "recreational" it will become.I want flying to stay within the price bracket of as many people as possible. I personally will be happy if RA keeps on cutting its own path quite seperately from GA because thats what i actually like about it..Its not GA.. Please dont hate me too much...

It can really suck sometimes, but not as much as being sucked into crappy weather.. I had to do the 4+ hour drive from Melbourne to Swan Hill the other day because the weather was iffy..It wasnt too bad on the way up, but i would have had my work cut out on the way back the next day dodging heavy showers and TS, so id have to say i made a good call, but geez I cant wait to get my IFR and NVFR so i can have just a bit more choice! Overall lately the weather has been all over the place..The good ol change of season on Australia..Gotta love it..Unless you are planning to fly!

Hi Pioneer and welcome.. Id definitely contact RA AUS because they will have a definitive answer for you.. There are a few RA schools that are an hour or two out of town(further out than Lilydale) that can avoid the busier and more complicated airspace around Melbourne and have some nice scenery to boot.. If you are happy to have a bash around with an Instructor sitting next to you the Lilydale is probably the closest to the Melbourne CBD... If you want a bit more specific info on the schools i personally have had experience with feel free to PM me and Il give you some more info on what (little) i know! :thumb_up:

Congrats! When i have some spare time, Il pop up on a Nav.. Enjoy..

Hi Yall.. Anybody know if there are any tecnams for hire at YLIL.I can see plenty of other stuff online, but no Teccy's? Cheers Simon

He actually still manages to get the shots tho!One of the new york shots is straight into the site where the twin towers were.What an incredible journey.....x4!:thumb_up:

How did poor Thx's thread go from him looking for a 40 grand aircraft to people suggesting he look at a 90 grand aircraft??oh yeah i forgot..This is aviation we're talking about:laugh:..........

:blush:woops!

Im looking forward to it, but with Richard Geere in it...well it could be good and it could be

Hi All.. I must say that every time I read about someone going solo for the first time, a smile appears on my face, so I thought Id devote an entire thread to it.. I want to hear about your very first solo - how you felt - what happened and how many hours you were at when you did it..Did anything unusual happen..Did you feel ready? Did you cry? Did you giggle like a schoolgirl(I did) any near misses or hairy moments? Im sure you get the picture.. Go for it..

Until they(CASA) give us another option its the only way!!

And here i am on my bike in Melbourne, concerned about the traffic and crazy cab drivers..Wombats!! ive got nothing to worry about..Dont they have like a steel butt or something?:uhoh2:

Good news Brett.. Its a bit addictive this learning/flying thing, and what a great addiction! I personally thought i was coming into it too late a year ago at the age of 31, but the overwhelming response has been that if you are able to complete the training, work hard,build your hours and present well, there are many companies who are more than willing to take on-ahem-older pilots due to their life experiences, stability and reliability..In the most part guys in their 30's and 40's offer a lot due to their consistency and maturity, and can make particularly good instructors because they're not trying to get past the instructing to do "real" flying as so many young kids are.. It can be a long haul getting to the CPL, but the advice that was passed on to me, and i have taken on board is just to enjoy it, and not be in too much of a rush without going the other way and procrastinating either.The CPL subjects for me have been a mixture of "jees thats interesting" to " what the bloody hell does that mean??", but i like the challenge and it is so good to give the brain a workout... Keep us posted and Il see you up there..:thumb_up:....

Go easy on yaself mate.. It's nerve racking to do the tests, but over time you will get more and more comfortable with them as your hours and experience increase.Thats not to say that you wont get the jitters tho.Remember no instructor is likely to put you up for any test before you are ready, so if they thought you were good enough then you probably are..And you did pass:thumb_up: Something that really helps me when I sit tests is to "fly" all of the prec searches, forced landings, stalls etc in my mind many times before i actually do it in the air.I even go so far as to sit in the airplane (if i can get the time in it) and do every movement a number of times so that when it comes to doing it for real, my hands know where to go without too much thought and that leaves me free-er to fly the plane.That also goes for all the radio calls and any other things that i dont want to be clogging up time with in the air.. Enjoy the flight with ya old man...

Is it ever used as a term for flying over any stretch of flight where landing easily is not a possibility like over an urban sprawl in an RA plane where we arent allowed into CTA or GAAP? I could have sworn that Id heard the term used in that way??:confused:

As far as i know plenty of schools have the ability to have you sit the Cyber exams at their school(maybe up to PPL only??), and it is a nice little earner for them, but the place i went to is called "tasman online" (aslexam.com), and they have a specific facilities to do the exams(Aus wide probably).. Im not sure of the cost difference, and it is possible that it will be comparable or more expensive to do it where i did, but the school im learning hasnt got the cyber set-up just yet.. I hope that helps, and im sure someone will be able to fill the gaps i may have missed..