Ballpoint 246niner

All good comments and input I've noticed in this thread and also an interesting flip side to an earlier thread that discussed the various rates around the country with FTF's on offer. Someone once said" be careful in making your passion your profession" some would say that if you do then you'll never work a day in your life. But knowing that you must do it each day to make a sustainable living can very much change your perspective on any job. Every job has its highs and lows( excuse the pun) and instructing is no different. Getting to know, teaching, shaping, moulding and watching a student grow and then command an aeroplane, and then be given the authority to do so unsupervised is one of the greatest types of job satisfaction I can give and receive. There are many other less attractive, arduous and menial tasks and coupled with the environmental uncertainties,personality types, compliance and business pressures and our insecure governance at present can tend to dilute this satisfaction so it all balances out. So then your left with the remuneration and this will very much depends on every individuals needs and expectations. Most schools don't have a huge support staff to do all the non flying responsibilities so this often falls on the instructor who, as mentioned before will only get paid for their flight hours. I know execs and managers earning high 100k plus incomes, FIFO mining workers and tradesmen also on the top side of 100k plus also. Some do 40 hrs a week some 80 plus! But I guess the national average wage is in the mid 60k mark, so if you can earn somewhere between average and the above mentioned examples, and do less than 50 hrs then you have a good job for a reasonable income, the rest comes down to job satisfaction and the time you commit to earn that wage. The satisfaction is more often priceless but, you can't pay the bills with a smile. Love over gold, romantic not pragmatic.... All food for thought.

Next time your at a typical airfield mate, check out the average age of the instructors car. Then go to a building site, office block, even a retail shop and check the same, you'll soon see that we don't do it for the money!

A truly magnificent photo- well done, right place, right time.

Guys I was flying down to YCFS ON Friday, but at this stage looks like 4 wheel flight with the weather. Wifey is in for the trip and we can talk more when I see you both. Puk, the cloud did rise later this arvo, it was 600 at 2pm!

Hey CApt. See you like the Beemers, I worked for the bike division for 10 years. Rode the HP sport around the island once as well. Great bikes. We may have crossed paths on a safari somewhere?

Thanks DJ, I had a look, the information and subsequent searches on the CASA website did not clearly state if any requirements were required for the initial TIF if flown with an approved instructor who holds an AOC- that's why I asked. In RA, all initial flights are considered flights under training and potential candidates must be at a minimum, a temporary member of RA Aus to undertake a TIF as we have no provision under CAO 95.55 etc to conduct "joyflights" or charter. Many Thanks.

The organisation is definately moving in the right direction- lets hope this is solidified with a new board soon.

I was of the understanding that a CASA issued student licence (SPL) was required to undertake training( Trial Instructional flight-TIF)) in any GA aircraft. Otherwise the flight would constitute a Joyflight or Charter. Am I mistaken?

Sorry guys late entry to this discussion- beats all the politics and doom. Great for getting out on a bike and just forgetting everything else. 6 y.o 1st bike- now on Number 58 ( I think). Worked in the industry for 15yrs so that helps- love anything fast and the big adventure bikes. Over the years, 8 Hang Gliders, I glider ( share),5 parachute rigs, 2 trikes and 2 planes. No wonder I'm so poor!! It really is surprising how the two seem to go together- nice thread!

Thanks Andy- yes I expected the timeframe- lets hope CASA is patient enough to see if our members vote appropriately to discard the executive that was responsible for creating the current mess- in its' entirety.

SPOT ON!!!

An open question? Is it possible for the membership to exercise their vote by an EGM now and have the board suspended until the AGM in September and allow the current managers to care take the organisation until this time with a new board to be elected. From my understanding CASA is happy with the current management now working to fix things but we are all apparently sick of the board blocking their progress. Interested to hear the thoughts of those more knowledgeable in the constitution.

My understandinding from my time in the auto industry is that 95 RON is actually a higher level distilled product in the refinery process and it has not had active performance agents added in the same way as some of the 98 RON brands. We use 98 Caltex and have no problems but the 95 is a not a blended fuel as such. Some off the volumatics and additives in the 98 blended fuels can " go off" in some conditions and lose their effective octance performance as a result. I personally would look very carefully and get further technical advice before running a 100UL/S on any modified 91 RON fuels for prolonged periods.

No worries mate, you got two birds with one stone! Like my mate one nut did a few years back...

There's an old saying Andy.... Fool me once - Shame on you. Fool me twice- Shame on me! I think I'll let you decide on my thoughts....

Maj- this year must've been DeJaVue then......

Next time your up with an instructor get him to time you and see how you go, many pilots can get the first decision sets right then become overloaded as pressure increases closer to the modified final approach path- paper planes won't kill you but you raise a good point. Remember whilst knowing and accurately and performing checks is important it should never take a higher priority than flying the plane. There is no substitute for practice as close as possible to "real" we can do. While Avayner you've highlighted the TIME required, this is only one aspect of effective emergency procedures. Assessment, judgement, situational awareness, ADM, and the human elements all need to be factored in and practiced as well. And even with all this locked away it will always come down to the circumstances and decisions on THE DAY when it happens for real. A highly qualified sample of ATPL's were given a simulation of the fated flight 1549 which Capt."Sully" Sullenberger successfully landed in the Hudson river. NONE of them were able to either replicate or deliver a challenge -response outcome in the way that "Sully" did. His book Highest Duty is a good read and insight it how all this can gel together. Remember practice make PERMANENT.

The standard advised as I'm aware is AC2142 , F2506 is the ATSM std for props.In any case as the bulletin states, no manufacturers have provided compliant evidence to the available standard. Your right DJP, there is a standard, it's just no current manufacturer has provided proof on their certificate of compliance in meeting the standard to date. I should have said "no presented standard by LSA manufacturers"

Yes anyone who complains about not having enough time in circuit to do everything needs to go skydiving-55 seconds from 10 thousand feet to save your life and perform all sorts of manoeuvres in formation. Glad you liked it!

Perhaps CASA are giving RA- Aus just enough rope... either to learn to tie some very solid knots to climb upon or well everybody knows the other outcome.... our SMS is well under way at FTF level.

OK, just a bit of a summary on In Flight adjustable Propellors (IAP's) for recreational aircraft. As of today there is still no standard that CASA accepts for Light Sport Aircraft to utilise them in Australia. There are numerous "conformant' standards that manufacturers and distributors are claiming that meet the ASTM's but none to my knowledge have been accepted by CASA. Aircraft that are fitted "standard with an IAP and have a 'type certificate" Certificate of Airworthiness issued by a CASA "approved person" are allowed operate with the fitted propellor. Now CASA had 2 choices- shut down every LSA aircraft with an IAP immediately they became aware of this or allow the the self regulating body( RA-Aus) to audit, then work with the manufacturer's, owners etc,to gain compliance. CASA sensibly followed the latter. Unfortunately RA Aus, and more importantly the importers and distributors have not all conformed to this request, and this is now being enforced as part of the registration audit process. If you've got an IAP on your LSA aircraft and can't provide a copy of an approved ASTM standard statement from your aircraft manufacturer/distributor then the registration renewal will not be processed until an approved propellor is fitted( fixed pitch), and proven via documentation, and or inspected and signed off by an "approved person. Otherwise it can revert to ELSA( Experimental) but as such cannot be used for training. The last thing I heard from Avalon was that european manufacturers were working with ICAO to get an equivalent EASA standard accepted, but I am not aware if this has yet occurred. Camel/Mark. The Texan in question was not "type certified" but a 550LSA version and as such fell in the above explained category. The registration authorities from 2006 onwards in RA-Aus, and the manufacturers and distributors should have been aware of this and conformed to these requirements. I believe there are significant numbers of other aircraft still awaiting renewals due to owners/distributors/manufacturers still unable to provide suitable conformant documentation at the request of the current RA-Aus registration authorities. Hope this helps. BP.

Hear Hear Tubs- couldn't have said it better myself. We are now at the point that even GOOD people are being overwhelmed by the chasm of incompetence that has been dug by the current board.Change is inevitable and change comes with pain- let's hope it also comes with promise and a future......

Is it true that the registrations now take longer than the average build? Better put your forms in now Steve.

Like lightning, signed.Its ridiculous that at many airports now you can't even get back airside without a person being called, then giving you the gate pin while he checks your ASIC, if I was a serious national thread it would be so easy to arrive airside then hijack from there. The whole system is a result of knee jerk incompetence. Proven by the fact that now marathons are are an open target. If we follow the security logic, you'll need an ASIC to go to the toilet soon!

Puk, happy to help you out mate, just drop by the hangar or our new commercial site at Hangar 102.