Today, a mate of mine and I visited his father out at LVAC. His father owns a
Jabiru ultralight. I thought that we'd be checking it out. I didn't expect to be
offered to go for a ride in it.

I was a bit nervous, but once we got going it was fine. The cockpit was a bit
cramped and it reminded me of getting into a racecar. But once in there, it was
comfortable. I had to make sure that my feet didn't tangle the pedals.

Another guy in an ultralight, not sure what it was, had just arrived back from
Yarrawonga. Took him 53 mins to get here and cost him about $40 in juice.

The fellow who owns the Jabiru is a bit narky over the licensing arrangements.
Apparently you can't simply get an endorsement (he has a CPL). Rather, he had to
do ten hours or whatever it was, to qualify for a different type of licence. He
said it was simply a revenue exercise as he has to hold two licences.

Anyway, it was a wonderful experience. I might have to look at this as a way of
getting my arse off the couch and into the air.

One day...

On Mon, 12 Nov 2007 21:20:54 +1100, Marts yahoo.com.au>
wrote:

It depends on how it's registered. A VH registered jabiru can be flown
by a PPL or higher no worries. The exact same plane RAA (ultralight)
registered needs an RAA license which takes 5 hours minimum for GA
pilots.

I suppose the 5 hour minimum makes sense if you wanted to transition
to lightweight things like drifters (which is what most people would
consider an ultralight). A CPL having to do that to fly a jab seems a
bit overkill though.

Cheers,

Al

On Mon, 12 Nov 2007 04:00:03 -0800, Al Borowski
gmail.com> wrote:

You need an RAA license to fly RAA registered aircraft. From the Ops
manual license requirements:

"c. if holding a current PPL or higher licence, have completed such
dual training as is deemed necessary by a CFI and, in any case shall
have not less than 5 hours flying experience in an ultralight aircraft
which shall include a minimum of one hour solo."

So unless you find a friendly RAA CFI who would call that aircraft an
ultralight despite not being registered as such, you're out of luck.
You'd also need to join the RAA and pay an annual fee. At least the
RAA offer insurance and a decent magazine - I don't mind being a
member personally. They seem like good guys.

Stealth Pilot wrote:

I thought that the conversion training was an RAA requirement and not a
CASA one.

Al Borowski wrote:

Al Borowski wrote...

Hmm. That's not how it was explained to me. His aircraft is VH-somethingorother
and he says that he needs to be in this rec. aviation mob.

He uses the CPL for his dayjob.

On 12 Nov 2007 23:14:31 +1100, GB kickindanuts.threefiddy.com>
wrote:

On Mon, 12 Nov 2007 23:42:53 +1030, Coop
chariotnose.netwheel.au> wrote: