phantom1959

Thanks for the reply Derek, Could you send some more picks of the aircraft (Cockpit, Instrument Panel, Seats etc. to [email protected] Cheers, Shane. 0438 118 126

What power plant is installed please?

It is a very sad time for local aviators in Echuca. The pilot is a well known local businessman and unfortunately his brother, one of the pax, is in a serious condition. The back seater is also a well known lady pilot, a skilled FW & RW operator. Our thoughts for a quick recovery go out to the three of them.

Hi Geoff, thanks for your recollection! Some people (like Shotgun) just don't get it at times - I understand when the sector/Tower/approach get busy but, those are the times that it is most important to be precise and, because it is busy, the ATC doesn't have time to say things twice. That is when it is incumbent upon ATC to purposely slow down their delivery so the right message is delivered to the correct pilot! If they don't do that the result is lots of "say agains" or "I missed that" or "was that for me?" all of which takes up valuable time. For some years I worked the sector that encompasses Mangalore (YMNG) and as we have seen this year, it is a very busy and sometimes, a tragically dangerous bit of airspace. When the work-load builds up there the opportunity to repeat transmissions disappears - as well as looking after Mangalore this sector also does arrivals and departures into Albury (so co-ord' with the tower) low level traffic into and out of Canberra (co-ord to Approach) plus all of the traffic into and out of YSWG I have on many occasions instructed Asian students at YMNG to put the instructor on the radio (if there is one) because even though the students have supposedly passed the 'English Language' test, their skills are not really up to speed and I didn't have the time to repeat all of the traffic info etc. If you have more than 2 or 3 aircraft doing air-work overhead the field in addition to other aircraft taxiing at YMNG plus on top of that, any hazard alerts, amended TAFS, SPECIS or new NOTAMS that have to be passed you can just imagine the congestion on the frequency! So the "Shotgun" style of delivery is very self defeating! Fly Safe! Cheers.

Thank you for your service, crap conditions to be working in!

I reckon you're right there Garfly, when 9HU reported "holding short at Hotel" all the ATC had to do was acknowledge with the C/S or if busy - say nothing at all, the aircraft had stopped where he was told to and couldn't go any further without an onwards clearance. If I were to say anything else I would have reiterated "Hold Position" but as soon as the ATC said "Continue.........." the opportunity arose for an error and the pilot ASSUMED he had a clearance to continue taxiing (across the rwy) When I had ATC trainees I always hammered into them the importance of unambiguous phraseology! One of the classics with one student (fortunately in the sim') was an aircraft called up saying " Centre, Speedbird 249 maintaining FL320, request climb to FL 340" the student replies "Speedbird 249 Climb to FL 340........................ (student thinking whilst looking at opposite direction traffic at FL 330 ) Not available" I explained how this was sooooo dangerous! - All the pilot hears is "Climb to FL 340" the "Not available" 5 seconds later is missed!! I drummed in to students to NEVER (ever) mention a level that you weren't going to assign! Over the years have heard mountains of crap phraseology (and have been guilty at times of adding to that mountain!)

Hope you are recovering well in hospital, a frying pan to the noggin can be quite painful!

I took up horse riding to lose some weight; after 2 weeks the horse has lost 20 Kg!

Great little unit the KTI, takes up bugger all space and has a few good little extra features.

I did a (GA) BFR a few years ago and as I was setting myself up in the cockpit I got my ipad out and placed it in the holder on the right hand yoke (P28-140) the instructor admired all of this and said "O.K for the purpose of the exercise your ipad has failed - what are you going to do know?" Well I said - reaching into my nav-bag I guess I will use my spare ipad! He said okay then - fair enough - at least you have an option! Now I only fly RA but I must admit I don't carry a chart with me as I mainly just fly locally (withing 20-30 nm) but if I do intend to do a travel flight I have an old VNC with me, a Garmin GPS that is both battery powered and ship powered, my trusty ipad with OzRwys and finally - just in case IOS lets me down - an Android tablet with Rwys on it! The gear doesn't weigh that much and I ensure it's all updated at home before I leave, I find that a paper map is a P.I.T.A in a small cockpit - particularly when I was sooooo clever and had them all laminated! - now I need my own body-weight in Bulldog Clips to keep the thing in check! But following this thread - I find it amazing that people still manage to become "Geographically Embarrassed" or not know what frequency they need to be on. By all means use the paper maps for ab-initio skills but modern training should include proper use of an EFB - they are not that expensive (compared to getting a licence / certificate) and with ADSB etc on some platforms it is yet another tool to enhance 'situational awareness' - something that seems to be becoming a lost art.............

The GPS receiver I use is called a 'Bad Elf' - it is about the size of an egg and it also has a Bluetooth connection to your ipad. It will service up to 5 devices so you can have it on your aux' EFB or phone. Cheers!

Being an ex-ATC I know quite well the difference between "request xxxx" or "require xxx" One - I would do my best to accommodate, the other it was my mission to make happen! I would always tell pilots at information sessions that we used to hold that they had to let us know what was happening in the cockpit otherwise we couldn't give them the best service they needed. I remember one night when I was in a C177 coming into Cooly' (VFR) the tower controller wanted me to hold east of the coast and orbit due to an IFR jet arrival. Even though it was VMC there was no moon and it was as black as sin - no horizon, I said I REQUIRE to hold over land so I had the lights of the CBD to have as a reference, he got all shirty but when I insisted, he re-issued the clearance. When we landed I phoned the tower and explained to him why I needed to be there - he wasn't a pilot and he didn't appreciate what he was asking me to do - so after a bit of explaining he was all "sorry about that chief" and we all went away happy. Similar words - BIG difference!!

Still piss funny after all of these years!

Back in the "Olden Days" when ATC still had an "Ops" section and the pilots used to come in and submit their FPL in person, the SOC (Senior Operations Controller) used to have to give Flight Plan Approval (FPA) for IFR flights. The fuel required was one of the most intensively scrutinised part of the plan. Apart from the 45 minutes statutory reserve, there was the fuel required for the actual flight Plus 15% IFR reserve plus any weather related holding - Tempo - 60 minutes, Inter 30 Minutes, plus any traffic holding as specified in ERSA or NOTAM plus fuel required for flight to an alternate field if required. Once that was all sorted out FPA would be granted, the FPL signed and away they went. When the airlines decided that they were the best arbiter of what fuel was needed (as they were the operators) and they really didn't like paying for an Op's service that they could do themselves - the briefing offices and ATC op's disappeared. The rules became a little more rubbery - it became "sufficient fuel to safely complete the flight" a very good catch all phrase for CASA because if you ran out of motion lotion you obviously hadn't complied with the rules! Progress, you gotta love it!

G'day Butch, I'm going (driving) to Echuca in an hour or so; if the wx is O.k I'll be taking the Coyote out for a few laps. If you would like to go for a jolly I should be around anytime after 14 O'clock! Ph 0438 118 126 Cheers.

G’day Butch, I have recently purchased a RANS S6 Coyote II from a builder at Holbrook. I have done a fair bit of homework on this model plane and it ticks a lot of the boxes that I wanted. The aircraft I bought is still in its infancy and has just clocked over 40 hours. Having owned a Cherokee 140 in the past I certainly appreciate the difference in running costs and the fun factor is huge! I am located in Echuca and if you are nearby and are still interested I would be happy to show you the plane and take you for a ride. Just pm with your details. Regards, Shane.

I have a couple of mates that have these radios set up in nice little boxes that operate on an internal battery and / or mains power. The guys (Frank & Nigel - Airshow Operators Par Excellance') have had no end of trouble since day one. I think I can count the number of times that these things worked properly on an extremely sloppy 1 handed butcher named Stumpy! The feedback issues are horrendous; we have had radio gurus who attend air shows for work and play just give up, shrug their shoulders and then have to be restrained from jumping off the display control position scaffolding Honestly, I think we would be better of communicating with the aircraft via sign language! The guys have spent lots of $$$ trying to get the sets right but we all realise they are just boat anchors masquerading as radios for the short term.

That you had the courage (?) to write in and ask for advice shows that you have matured in your aviation career to the point where know that you don't know everything! This is very important..... IMHO the ONLY time you know everything you NEED to know about aviation is the minute after you hang your headset up for the last time. Everything prior to that is a learning experience. When you find yourself in a tricky or unfamiliar situation remember the basics - 1. Fly the aircraft, 2. Fly the aircraft & 3. Fly the aircraft. You made a "Command decision" to go around the range rather than over it. That is what you are trained to do - assess a situation - make a decision that will keep you and your machine safe. That you fly for a bit longer, used a bit more fuel - so what? What are the implications of the diversion on fuel remaining? With a change in direction - how are you going for your cruising level - is there a change required? Consider amending any SARTIME you may have submitted, are you still going to be at your destination in time to cancel? Remember to tell someone that you have diverted though - I'll tell you why if u are interested. I understand from your post that you knew where you were and a big thumbs up for that. However, in the future when you may have become "temporarily geographically embarrassed" (not lost!) ask for some help - if you have a txpdr ask centre for a position & ground-speed check, that's what they are there for. You can use the updated info' to sort yourself out. Trust me, it is much better to sort yourself out early in the piece rather than saying nothing and only speaking up when it is 15 minutes to last light and / or you have 20 minutes of fuel remaining! Congrat's on your achievements thus far! Cheers.

Hello again ladies and gent's I was a member of this site years ago (so long ago I forgot my username etc!) But I am back again! Since I was last here I have sold my aircraft and also retired from ATC. I have joined RA Aus and look forward to obtaining my RA ticket. I reckon it's too difficult now with CASA & AVMED - jumping through too many hoops just to keep a PPL medical going. All for the 'priviledge' of flying 40 year old GA planes with steam driven instruments and power plants that gobble Avgas at a prodigious rate.✈️ Better of now (imho) to fly LSA with glass cockpits, and more modern and economical engines. I am also looking forward to expanding my knowledge through this website - there seems to be a lot of clever people out there. Cheers.

I think you will find it is always best to get in early and get your paperwork done asap. RA Aus won't issue a Pilot Certificate until you have completed your training and passed the test. You will however get your membership number quite quickly. As for flying in Australia, even though we are "Down Under" it is much the same as flying in Canada - push stick forward - trees get big; pull stick back - trees get small - keep stick back - trees get big again (lol) But on a serious note - just listen to your instructor - they will give you all the training you need with regards to airspace and procedures. Once you have done the appropriate x-country and CTA training there is (almost) nowhere you can't go in Oz. Have fun with your training (what location are you flying at?) Cheers.

I was working that night (ATC) it was a very sad night. Steve (owner of G.A.M) and his pilot were killed. Apart from the weather - appalling - there was a well known issue with the aircraft (type) Can't believe it was almost 10 years ago.