Mick

Got the wheel off the Sportstar this morning and was pretty pi$$ed at what I found. Under the new tyre fitted only recently was not a new tube as I was told. Instead there was an old tube with patches over previous punctures. It was one of these patches that let go. Managed to get new tube and thankfully the tyre was still usable so got it sorted. Due to the late departure after the repair only made it to Bourke today.

I am curious myself to see what the problem is. The tyres & tubes were fitted before I picked the aircraft up so I am not sure whether powder was used or not. When I do it I use plenty of talc. As mentioned I would not be surprised to find the tube was pinched between the wheel halves. I did not have time this afternoon to even pull the spat off and see the tyre, but all will be revealed tomorrow. The Sportstar tyres are a decent tyre, I racked up over 800 landings in 230 hours on the original tyres on my first Sportstar with no problems by the time I sold it. My Skylark has the same tyres and it also has given no problems and is still on it's original tyres after 430 hours and about 1000 landings. Both these aircraft have been operated both from bitumen as well as some pretty ordinary country strips.

Today flew from Ceduna to Port Augusta in beautifully smooth air, after a short break & some fuel it was off to Broken Hill. Managed to pull off an awesome landing, rolled about 60-70 metres with the nose wheel still off the ground and then popped the left tyre! Managed to keep it straight for a bit but then veered to the side of the runway. Had to jump out and quickly drag it outside the gable markers as there was a PC-12 on downwind to land after us. This was just after 5pm so will have to see the local LAME to get some help/tools to fix it in the morning. New tyres & tubes were fitted only a couple of weeks ago and we have only operated from bitumen since then so I suspect they might have pinched the tube when putting the wheel back together.

We went in 2008, found a home stay through the EAA website. It was only a mile from the airport. They even lent us bikes to save walking. If want to get a feel for how big Airventure is search Oshkosh Wisconsin on google earth. The latest images were taken during the show so you can see the thousands of parked aircraft.

Got out of Forrest this morning again under a cloud base of about 2500 feet. Traked south-east over more of the Nullabor to Eucla on the coast, then around the bight to Ceduna for tonight. The flight along the bight was spectacular, flew most of it at 1000 feet and about 300 metres off the coast for a great view of the cliffs.

Made it out of Kalgoorlie today and flew the Iron Compass to Forrest. Pushed 10-15knots of headwind component most of the way. Overcast was at about 2500-3000 feet so flew at 1000 feet agl. At least it was not rough with no thermal activity. The hospitality here at Forrest is great, would recommend an overnite stay to anyone passing this way. Tomorrow will be down to the coast at Eucla and around the bite to Cedunda.

This morning dawned with a solid overcast at 1100 feet and a calculated ground speed of only 70 knots. So I have another day to look around Kalgoorlie. I thought it always blows from the west out here? My talent for finding head winds strikes again!!!

Thanks for the heads up, I was just wondering if we could get a feed at Forrest. Plan on flying the rail / road as I am not expecting too many other land marks between here & Forrest.

Made it out of Jandakot this morning. Started to catch up to the front as we neared Kalgoorlie so we parked it. Had a bit of a look around this afternoon and will head off again in the morning. Plan for tomorrow is to Forest for fuel & a break, then down to Eucla and around the bight to Ceduna.

Weather was really ordinary this morning so went nowhere. Hard thing is I only have 20 minutes between first light and when the tower opens. With the weather a bit iffy it means I don't get much time with light to see what it is like and make a call to go. If I make a call to go, then get up and don't like what I see there is very little time to get back on the ground before the tower opens.

I flew the Sportstar today out at Jandakot. Weather permitting I plan on getting out in the morning before the tower opens. Only planning a short run tomorrow to Kalgoorlie.

Ianwells, thanks for the aerial pic!

We are hoping he will be at Old Staion next year, he has attend before.

What a great weekend it turned out to be. I have just been through my photos and by my count 81 aircraft attended, which included the helis and gyros. Strange that we had no trikes this year. If anyone managed to get some pics from the air I would love to see them.

Just landed at Old Station. Wall to wall blue skies, About 10-12 knot south westerly.

I was out at Old Station today helping prep for the weekend. They did have some rain last night, but not enough to cause any worries, by mid afternoon it was all dry and blue skies. Looks like there won't be any more rain but it might get a bit breezy by Sunday. With south westerlies blowing it's going to be cool. I am flying out in the morning to set up camp for the weekend. See you there!

Bumping this as a reminder this great event is on this weekend coming. See my post #52 above or the events calender for details. See you there!

The Sportstar finally got registered this week so I am looking to book our flights to Perth for the 28th. Plan on doing a refresher flight with an instructor on the 29th and leave for home on the 30th. If we get any weather hold ups you might even catch us along the way.

I agree Turbs, but some seem fixated on this concept. I really think we just need a professional, qualified and experienced board regardless of where they are based. I like Ian's concept of having specific roles for some positions on the board as long as the person is appointed to the role based on qualification, not just because the other board members think they would be OK.

Recently I was discussing concerns about how RAAus is being run with a fellow member and I made a comment on my thoughts that we need a proper corporate management board, the members of which should have relevant experience in such roles. My mate made a comment that such a structure is unlikely due to the nature of RAAus and the perceived need for representation from all parts of the country. This got me to thinking about how do we overcome the differences between area representation and board members selected on merit, qualifications and experience. It occurred to me that a variation of a system I have seen in place might be the answer. Here in Gladstone Qld, the airport is owned by the local regional council, but last year it was corporatised and is now run as a seperate entity to the council. The council ( an elected body ) advertised for, interviewed and appointed a board of people based on their corporate knowledge and experience, who now oversee the management and determine future strategic planning, but the airport is still owned by the council. My thought is that maybe a new model for RAAus could be for the members to elect a committee in the same way as we do now with a regional basis. This committee is then tasked to select a corporate board, based on merit & relevant experience. This corporate board is then responsible for the role of overseeing the future direction of RAAus, and acting as a board should, allowing management to manage, and staff to look after the day to day runnings of the organisation. The elected committee would only need to meet during the process of appointing an initial corporate board, and again if / when changes to the corporate board are required. Maybe also an annual meeting to assess the corporate board's performance. I think with this system the need for frequent elections would be less and possibly terms for the elected committee could be made longer. Obviously employing a board in this manner would incur costs, but I believe an increase in costs in this manner would be a worthwhile investment in our future as an organisation. So that's my thought, just putting it out there to see what others may think. Happy to hear others thoughts on how this might work or if it can be refined. Maybe some will think it's crazy, but the first step toward sorting the future of RAAus is to come up with a better model than the one we have now and have so badly outgrown.

Does that mean if I paint the Skylark like that it will do 160kts too?

Are these the same cards used for rego labels on aircraft? Should not be short of those lately with so many aircraft waiting on rego!

Hi Friarpuk, I will be making a similar flight hopefully in the next fortnight. I will be leaving Jandakot for Esperance, then around the bite like you to Port Augusta, from there to Broken Hill, Bourke, St George and finally to Gladstone. My mount will be an Evektor Sportstar. I am just waiting for RAAus to register it and then I will be heading west to get the aircraft and start the trip home. Cheers Mick

Just bumping this thread as a reminder to all that this great event is coming up. Old Station Fly-in & Heritage Show (via Raglan) Sat 25th- Sun 26th May (welcome from Friday 24th May) Welcome to drive or fly-in and camp for the weekend Must book for the evening meal. Donation $10 per person entry fee - proceeds to Capricorn Helicopter Rescue. Camping in camp grounds ( $30 per site ) or under wing ( free ), food and beverages for sale Strip Information: 2000m long x 18m wide. Orientation: 06/24; Coordinates: 150 48' 23.8" E & 23 49' 25.0" S Elevation 150 feet. Avgas available. Radio: 126.7, Ground: 121.6 For general information contact Leonie Creed 0438 346 563 [email protected] or (flying enquiries) Ron Creed phone: 0408 346 536

But those of us who use the site really appreciate it.