GraemeK

Yep - I agree, I've mastered it now, but the early takeoff runs at 120km/h on a bumpy (sometimes muddy and slippery as well) grass runway steering with your feet took some getting used to! Made freeway driving at 100 clicks look a breeze!

Main weather issue I've found in summer is more turbulence due to unstable air - plus it's surprising how much runway you eat up before you get off the ground (choosing yourself a nice light instructor helps!). The runway does tend to get a bit bumpy, but usable.

Was half way there, and tempted to turn up anyway (couple of times I've done that, and waited until the weather cleared about 12, so got a lesson anyway). But the area forecast didn't look like the fog would clear until afternoon, so gave up. My next booking is 19th.

Hate that Melbourne fog ......

You might be a pilot if: You describe the weather in METAR code in casual conversation. You cause a traffic slowdown passing the airport because you’re scanning for traffic and identifying departing and arriving aircraft. You perform a flow check when starting your car. You read back your fast food order at the drive-through and end it with your license plate number. You’ve ever missed an anniversary, the birth of a child, or a spouse’s birthday because the ceiling had finally come up to 1,500 AGL. You preflight your car. You’ve ever inadvertently slammed on the brakes in your car because you intended to command left rudder. You bring taxiway diagrams, en route charts, and approach plates along as a passenger on a commercial flight so you can follow along. On the highway on-ramp, you think of yourself as joining Victor whatever and resuming own navigation. You gauge the all income and expense in terms of flight hours represented. You've told everyone you know that the only gift you want for Christmas, birthday, Father's Day, etc. is flight time. You secretly enjoy telling your boss “roger” instead of “wilco.” You'd look up at the sound of an engine overhead even if your guy was on one knee proposing. If you've ever popped the clutch on you car causing the engine to “quit.” The GPS Velcro-ed to your car dash weighs more than five pounds and contains FBO data. You do a GUMPS check while turning final. Into the driveway. If you refer to your car by the last three characters of the license plate (e.g. the Ford is “three niner golf”) You have only two expressions for weather. VMC and IMC. You’ve gotten a flight briefing using the speakerphone in your office hoping that your coworkers would overhear and be impressed. You’ve ever used the phonetic alphabet while making a restaurant reservation. You have more than three spare flashlights on your person. You plan a road trip with a nav log, a plotter, and an E6B. You’ve ever identified your highway exit and then contemplated which STAR will take you into town. You've ever tried to slow your car by pulling on the steering wheel. You've ever unconsciously started to drive down the road with the yellow line under the middle of your car. You “go on the gauges” when you hit a rain squall while driving. You go to accelerate in the car and reach for the centre console. You want an altitude readout in the car's GPS, speed trends, and distance to stop calculated in real time. You call the local ASOS or AWOS for weather, flying or not. You use “niner” in everyday speech. You bring your headset to the showroom when shopping for a new car . . . and leave when there are no phone jacks in the panel . . . You complain when the spoiler on the car can't move up and down. When you go to start the car, you roll down the window and shout “CLEAR PROP!” You’ve ever been on a rough road and called the state police road-condition hotline to ask for higher. You spend rainy days listening to live ATC feeds on liveATC.net You get someone in an orange vest to guide you into and out of your driveway. You hit speed-limit on the freeway and call out 'Rotation Speed' although quietly. You use the cruise-control up/down in your car and think you are trimming your ride. You take your leg off the gas pedal few blocks from home, and check whether you can make it to your drive-way in a 'simulated engine failure' scenario. You actually say 'Cruise control ON' before turning on the cruise control in your car. You hold steady your steering at constant bank in a 'circular' on-ramp. If you rearrange the groceries to the best weight and balance for your car's specs. You give your address using VOR radials and distances.

I went to the CASA safety briefing - lots of stuff on VFR into IMC. On the way back, lots of fog on the road so I practised my instrument scans :thumb_up:.

Out at YLIL this evening - lots of fog about, hope it clears by tomorrow morning .....

One of the Jabiru AD's has a method:

Reason for the rebadging was they found most blokes couldn't find it .......

Welcome to the forums tarana! You'll find lots of helpful folks on here. As far as schools go, with the changes to GAAP just implemented, forget Moorabbin . Lilydale is worth considering - we have three Jabs on line (there's also a Tecnam available for duals). Good instructors, mostly qualified for GA instructing as well as RA - so if you want to go on to get your PPL it's an easy transition into the Warriors. No waiting for takeoff, just taxi, complete runups and enter and roll (at least yet, I noticed the other day that Coldstream seemed a whole lot busier than normal with foreign students so maybe the move out of YMMB is already happening). No landing fees plus you have the pleasure of learning to land on grass :thumb_up:.

My call is DEPARTING UPWIND, with intentions (PASSING XXXX for YYYYft, FOR DESTINATION/WAYPOINT) ........

Yep - if all those superheros out in GA land can pass the exam, it's gotta be a breeze for us :stirring pot: Seriously - I think it's the way to go, why impose extra stuff on those who don't need or want it when there's a simple solution? Plus I've just been dying to step back in time and have a go at flying the antique Warriors with their quaint steam gauges!

maybe 9-16 were the pages celebrating the approval of the CTA endorsements ....... Nope, OK here too ....

Hope it works for you - the big advantage is that it only covers the stuff you need for the RA-Aus exams, but more importantly, ALL of the stuff you need. The ATC and Bob Tait books, while excellent, don't cover the specific RA issues you will be examined on. Will be interested to hear what you think!

Hi Pat, and welcome to the forums! Mum lives at St Leonards, so I've driven past the strip a few times - must have a closer look one day!

When I pushed it back and forth to check the suspension bolts, the wheel rotated ...

Hi DS On my preflight today I noticed that the RH brake was slipping - so got the L2 to have a look and fix it before we went up. So you gotta be vigilant! BTW, today took a lazy tour around the training area to see all the boundaries, nice and relaxing after circuits. 36L is pretty cut up and muddy - not ideal for touch and goes ATM.

Hi Alley SkySupply have them, bit pricey but worth it because it's written specifically for the RA syllabus. I know what you mean about home study - I did it that way too!

... and fairly easily. Our run-up checklist has "takeoff trim SET" before "controls full free and correct". In doing the latter, it changes the trim setting .......

Funny thing is, the Jab that caught fire in the circuit at YBUD ended up a pile of ashes except for the middle fuel tank! Jabiru fire at Bundaberg.

Yep, the ATC set is good (and my personal preference) but many prefer the Bob Tait series. Bob Tait seems to have a knack of explaining things in simple terms and is a much easier read - so it comes down to personal preference I guess. Your instructor will help you - but the other book (actually looseleaf folder) is put out by D-H Training Systems. You don't see them often (I got mine from the flying school, but they no longer have them here). It's called "Ground Training Manual" and it's specifically written for RA students, hence covers the RA-specific stuff that will be in your exams but not covered in the other books. It also has a programmed study plan and practice exams which closely follow the actual RA-Aus exams. It is probably the best resource if you want to do your own study - it covers BAK, Air Leg and radio endorsement. Maybe on for Ian to check out. Cheers

There's a thread here that may help: http://www.recreationalflying.com/forum/announcements-site-news/4931-fuel-mizer-fuel-flow-gauge.html

Dunno - it's always part of my downwind checks, just after the carb heat and hatches and harnesses bit and just before the "and cross check" :thumb_up: It's my message to my instructor to start panicking .

I agree on the radio thing. I reckon part of it is instructors not making sure that their students are competent in radio - I often hear students (both GA and RAA) repeatedly making poor calls without their instructor apparently correcting them. Sometimes I think we have a "near enough is good enough" attitude, which is not appropriate in our environment.

I reckon See How it Flies is a good free reference for the theory (and practice) of flight - albeit it gets a bit technical at times. Another good read is "Stick and Rudder" - it was written in the '40's but is still relevant today. The FAA website also has heaps of interesting stuff (although not all applicable to Oz). As Decca suggests, your instructor will have his own preferences as to training books, so best to wait!