Ultralights

herein lies part of the problem, the fear of seeking help, and ruining your career in the process. this has to change, the body count is already high enough, the Germanwing pilot, taking 130 people with him, failed to seek help out of fear for his career, the signs were there, but ignored, to save a career, but ultimately cost well over 100 lives. our regulatory environment is responsible for that, depression and suicidal thoughts are NOT an incurable disease. but we seam, as a society, to treat it as such, ending careers of those who do find the courage to seek help. I know of a few airline pilots, many 1000's of hours in a B747, being diagnosed with the likes of diabetes, boom, career ended. that person has since moved on to become an expert in aviation medicine. another great example is the CASA crusade against colour blindness. 30,000 safe flying hours, suddenly, unsafe! based on what safety case? another career destroyed. Maybe the solution is, if someone shows to their doctor with depression, anxiety, or other symptoms, and seeks help, how about supporting that pilot, as best we can to help them get through, in the mean time, keep them flying, but as a second officer, until they are recovered? then they will have a far less of a chance of becoming suicidal having to deal with a career ending at the worst possible time for that person. As mentioned, some might see suicide as a way to get back at someone, usually the heartbroken choose this path, but sadly, most suicides see it as the opposite, those people, see it as a way for them to no longer be a burden on their families and loved ones. they are suffering, see the effects on their family and friends. and decide that suicide is the only solution to end the suffering they feel they are putting their loved ones through. unfortunately, its a societal norm to stigmatise suicide and mental illness, it will require time, regulatory change, and the media to stop calling it a mental illness in a bad light, and report it as a treatable medical condition that you CAN get support for, i also think, in a bigger picture view, the current nanny state bubble wrapped society we live in also induces an increase in suicides. you simply cant have good old fashioned fun anymore without fear of offending someone, or someone being sued. where are all the fun park in Sydney? the NSW government has decided that no one should be out late anymore... you cant even fly a kite somewhere without breaking CASA regulations, in most people, just thinking of those regulations and rules and restrictions on everyday mundane stuff will cause most to feel a little upset and depressed.. i know it does me.

its good to see the cultural norm of stigmatising suicide continue on, lets not talk about it, blah blah, why not? its this hiding the truth under the carpet that has created this atmosphere where people feel they cannot talk about, therefor believing they cannot get help and there is something inherently wrong with them that society must shun them.. and hence, we continue to see the tragic results. you do realise that suicide is now the BIGGEST killer of people aged between 22 and 40.. and 1.9% off ALL deaths in Australia are now suicides? (Lifeline.org.au) with stat like these, why are we not talking about it? Part of it might be self imposed, when someone asks how was your weekend? almost everyone, to friends, family, work mates, will say "it was good" when in reality, it might have been crap. why are we afraid to say, when asked the same question,"my weekend was shite, feeling crap, depressed, no idea why..." why do we all feel the need, or scared to admit the truth? not only of ourselves, but as a society? why are we scared to talk about the possibility of suicide being a cause of a tragic death, that could possibly have been avoided, if simply, we spoke of it more?

even this assertion is now being questioned as the primary cause of those accidents listed as caused by "human error" what caused the error? fatigue? a lack of situational awareness? was the pilot on "autopilot" as it were, and simply didnt see the warnings? (as you do when driving a car, and realise you got somewhere, been driving for a bit, and dont remember any of it?) was it poor training? or poor ergonomic design that led to the error? (im researching this at uni at the moment)

there is a bit more to this than meets the eye, and goes some way to explaining the calling off the search.. no transponder, no beacon, and no way of knowing where he went.

scary stuff, yeah, dont beat yourself up over a radio call. remember Aviate, Navigate, communicate. dont waste time communicating when you should be aviating. but im interested to know what led to the oil starvation?

after exhausting my brain reading through 2 Thesis over the past week, all can think of when reading that was "citation needed!"

the Low wing tecnams can be flown with the canopy open, as per the flight manual, but do you do loose lift and need to keep speed below 70kts. as for the high wing tecnams, i have no idea

wow, im at Bankstown, and pay less for decent hangarage, and half that for landing fees! and i get 3 runways, and a control tower, as well as fuel delivered directly to my aircraft for that! I remember landing at Warnervale a few years ago, to use a toilet, and came out of it nearly $30 lighter.. vowed never to return there. seams like little has changed.

not sure yet, a re weight and balance will be done before it flies again, i am confident the fuel lines would not have changed much, if not saved some weight. we reduced the length of the fuel lines, and removed a heap of heavy fire sleeve as well, the lines we chose were the lightest made, they are made for motor and drag racing application, so weight was a factor in their design, all fittings are anodized aluminium

if i remember correctly, the new style pump upgrade is a mandatory AD for certain serial numbered engines. (just going on a memory here, so it might not be mandatory but recomended)

yes Rotax parts are expensive, but they are reliable, if recent reports are to go by, more reliable then their GA counterparts. I just finished rebuilding my fuel system from the firewall forward on my 912, and the mechanical fuel pump is not that expensive when i consider what i spent on the fuel system in total up front. (teflon, fuel line, stainless steel braided wrapped in kevlar) no more 5 yearly rubber replacement for my fuel system any more.

i can see a few saving opportunities there already, I have Savannah Vg as well, tyres, at $1500 every 400 hrs is very expensive, i upgraded from the originals which wore out very quickly to Aerotrainer 6.5x6 500 hours later and still 90% tread left. nose wheel still looks new! and propellor, it= might be worth looking into a Bolly prop, unlimited life, no overhaul or replacement needed unless physically damaged by propstrike or similar. i had an old aluminium hub which corroded and damaged the blades, and Bolly replaced the hub, at 700 hrs old, and refurbished the blades for free. the cost of a new Hub and blades would come in a little cheaper than the $2000 quoted every 600 hrs.

Is there any more info on exactly what happened? being a Savannah owner, im a little interested.

so, the 45 min reserve is , or was a safety buffer.. in case of unforeseen circumstances.. so now, using the safety buffer, for safety reasons, is now a criminal offence? so, how does this apply to electric aircraft? that have a max flight time of 1 hour, so legally, you can do 1 circuit.. wow, way to go CASA... sometimes i wonder why the industry even bothers to listen to CASA sometimes, 20 year of regulatory reform and rules, and the safety stats haven't changed in all that time, so the solution, more rules.. at what point did CASA become the aviation industry micromanager? and who do i send my application for permission so i can look at my aircraft, and go for a fly? Nanna CASA?

have now! found quite a few.

a bit of sealant and fly screen mesh isa good against wasps and still lets water out, when i took the tips off my horizontal stabiliser and elevator, i found about 5 mud nests on the spar.

this looks like it has been in the water over a year. This Doesnt,

will have a look at mine tomorrow, though im not a fan of using full flap for take off though.

who is the US importer?

are you talking proper fully developed spins? or just the 1 or 1.5 turn incipient spin that everyone seams to think is a full spin? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw75rNaTNT0 remember, different aircraft have different spin recovery techniques, so unlike the guy in the chipmonk in coffs harbour, make sure you get proper spin training, from a qualified and skilled instructor (eg, ex RAAF, or aerobatic competition pilot, not someone who says they have experience only in incipient recovery) before attempting any spins by yourself. in an approved aircraft of course..

So many negative stories about the F35, it almost like its deliberate negative propaganda...

still within minimum separation requirements.. another story on the same event admitted so... also, one story says it happened 6 months ago, another 2 years ago.. its media bullshite like this that results in things like aircraft holding at Bankstown airport wanting to depart into controlled airspace heading west, for at least 30 mins, with engines running, waiting on a clearance while one aircraft over newcastle at the time lands in Sydney..

intersting, how do they work?

50 is ok , if you use unleaded fuels only if avgas, change at 25 or 50 max. i do my filters at every 50

if you have BP at Bathurst, see if they can get the oil for you, the BP fuel truck guy here at Bankstown gets it for me at the usual prices. 1 ltr containers of Aeroshell sport+ as for filters, i bought a box of 12 from aircraft spruce when i was ordering parts. and when the AUD$ was 1;1 to the US.