FlyBoy1960

The only public article is here https://www.twz.com/40255/crash-in-iraq-helps-unmask-secretive-ultra-quiet-special-operations-drone-program There are more but you need to register etc.

According to the article, they are flying 36 hours at a time in the Middle East. They are doing 55 flights before the engine reaches TBO so the engines are getting replaced every 3 to 4 months and these engines which are out of time but only a few months old get "disposed of" whatever that means. Imagine the parts supply for us regular people, almost new parts really cheap but unfortunately that doesn't seem to be happening. The article mentions they are flown out of Jordan but operated out of New Mexico. A normal flight is 36 hours but they can do 45 if needed. The Gimbal on the bottom is water cooled and worth ~$2 million and is used for surveillance, targeting and everything else. The payload is the expensive part and the engine is considered a disposable part based on the hours they are doing

These have been around since 2008 as UAV aircraft. One of the reasons Textron purchased Pipistrel according to the article.

whatever happened to the other group which was going to run parallel with the RA-Aus. It was all over this website for about a year and then just quietly disappeared after they kept missing their 'open for business' dates ?

I am disputing what you have said, because the coroner didn't once mention icing. That was your interpretation of the events, and not a fact from the coroner's report. I do agree with you, that icing was a likely possibility, and at least one of the reasons that this flight ended in a fatality. But the very first reason was the pilot not having the skills to decide that the weather was not suitable on that day for his level of training and the equipment in the aircraft. There is no other consideration that needs to be made other than a pilot making very poor decisions from the moment he taxied. I keep coming back to the statement in the coroner's report that even the guys wife/de facto wouldn't even fly with him. You don't need any more red flags than this statement on its own.

perhaps, if they leave it long enough, they think we will have forgotten and the can sweep everything under the rug

Why havent the RAA issued a statement yet ? Their employees have been referred to the DPP to be charged as criminally liable. The whole thing stinks from start to finish!

The guys at TL Ultralight in the Czech Republic did this about 5 years ago. These are the people that make the Sting, Stream, Sparker, Sirius, etc. and other aircraft in the range. They built about 20 units that were commissioned specifically for military training because they needed a low-cost way of operating an aircraft with a turbine engine for military training. Apparently, they couldn't do the same thing with a Piston engine variant. I saw some photos of the aircraft when I was lucky enough to go to AERO Friedrichshafen about 5 years ago. I will see if I can find the photos but it looked really nice. No idea of the price or anything else but it looked really good. A quick search found this information TL-Ultralight, a Czech aircraft manufacturer, has developed the Stream Turbo, an ultralight aircraft powered by the PBS TP100 turboprop engine. This engine is notable for its low weight and high static thrust, producing 241 horsepower (180 kW). It is equipped with autonomous oil and fuel systems, an electric BLDC starter-generator, and a digital control unit that maintains a constant propeller speed. The aircraft can reach flight levels up to 29,500 feet (9,000 meters) and has a maximum starting altitude of 19,700 feet (6,000 meters). tl-ultralight.cz tl-ultralight.com.au The Stream Turbo's design offers pilots an experience akin to that of a military fighter jet, featuring tandem seating and a highly streamlined Kevlar-fiberglass composite airframe with retractable landing gear. While primarily intended for military use, the aircraft's performance and design make it suitable for basic fighter training, especially for developing world militaries. 20 units were commissioned for the Czech Republic military as a basic trainer aircraft. pimaair.org The PBS TP100 engine itself has applications beyond civilian aviation; it is also utilized in various military contexts, including vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) operations for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

It could just be the rego lapsed because the owner got ill/died, lost his job and could afford to fly, wifey seperation etc. Its not always a neferious thing that causes a rego to lapse. He could have just also lost interest.

you get what you pay for in China. My Telsa Model Y was made in China and it is perfect in every way My iPhone was also made in China and it has worked perfectly for about 6 years Price and quality don't go together. If you pay a fair price then you will get a good product out of China every time. We are not shopping at the $2 store.

it's not a dumb comment because I didn't know the person. I had no idea of his age or even where he is located and flying from. I just noticed when I was reading it a 2nd time during lunch that he was not on the witness list and thought he would be a real obvious person to bring into the inquest. When you read the coroner's negative comments about him it made me wonder very briefly if he had passed from natural causes or self-inflicted (I have been listening to, too many crime podcasts). I could think of myself in his shoes wanting to do whatever was necessary to avoid this sort of scrutiny and stress.

Interesting ? Accident or self-inflicted ? I would be worried in his position

I am just wondering after reading it again over lunch why the flight instructor was not called to give evidence. He is mentioned thousands of times but was never interviewed ? What's going on there ?

10 years later. Is this strip still going ? Google maps show it all under cultivation ?

They have FAI records approaching crazy kms ! They are slow BUT can certainly travel some distances given the right conditions. Hence my comments about a cross country endorsement 612 km The distance record for paragliding was broken by Sébastien Kayrouz on 19 June 2021. He flew 612 km in a straight-line flight in Texas. The flight was made at a speed of 60 km/h and at an altitude of between 1000 and 2000 metres

Thats down south, the NT is only 8 hours.

I don't know if there is such a thing but maybe there is a cross-country endorsement for paragliders. If this chap had his cross-country endorsement then that would have been accepted by the RA-Aus because they have a recognition approval from other sports aviation associations. Just like if you migrated from the old HGFA, you could come into RA-Aus, and they would accept your cross-country, your pilot certificate and other ratings automatically. Perhaps they just automatically accepted the pilots cross-country endorsement ratings from his previous experience regardless of whether you thought it was appropriate or otherwise.

So where is this report ? all i have seen is the ABC 'review' seems the report is not available publically yet.

Doesnt mean they interpret the info correctly.

So all this discussion is on an ABC news article ?

There are links to the ABC story but is there a link to the coroners report itself ? Thats what i would like to read ?

Nobody has mentioned the dog (off-leash) with evil intent in his eyes.

The sea is mostly frozen over at the moment. Little chance of survival unfortunately.

Thats a reportable incident. CASA will send you the 68 page report to submit to them within 72 hours, failure to do so will become a matter of strict liability.