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Aaron crosses the dog fence at Border Downs, south of Cameron's Corner; four hours from Wagga by Jabiru.

"I thought it might be fun to have a lesson or two, just for the experience."

"I hold a lapsed Pilot Certificate and want to reactivate and update."

"I want to start training now and to fly every day until I am qualified."

"I can fly a Cessna but I need a  ticket to fly these recreational things."

All of these people have come to the right place!

 Training with us leads you to a Pilot Certificate that qualifies you to pilot  what are generally called recreational aircraft. These aircraft are easy to spot because they have a series of numerals as their registration, as opposed to aircraft with letters painted on. Even if you are a Qantas pilot you cannot act as pilot in command of a "recreational" aircraft unless you hold a recreational Pilot Certificate. Sadly, your Pilot Certificate won't qualify you to captain a jumbo either, unless you also hold an Airline Transport Pilot Licence. !

No matter whether you are a "weekend warrior" or a future professional pilot, choosing to do your initial pilot training at Wagga in our Jabiru aircraft is an economical and effective way to become a pilot. The Jabiru does not 'fly itself' and will, almost certainly, seem a little unruly at times.  

 
As a 'learner driver' you will be developing traffic skills. At times you will have the aerodrome to yourself whilst at 'peak hour' you might be sharing the sky and runways with several others.  Your aim will be to develop an ability to maintain a three dimensional mental picture of the traffic flow.  This will be greatly assisted once you have learnt to communicate effectively with your fellow airspace users via VHF two-way radio. The diverse traffic mix at Forest Hill will challenge you but ultimately enable you to be comfortable and confident operating in traffic.  You cannot build this skill at a deserted country aerodrome.

The restrictions applying to recreational aircraft operations are as follows: 1) no night flying  2) all flying is visual, no flying in clouds  3) no aerobatics  4) no flying in control zones.  Essentially, these are circles of a few miles radius around capital city and a couple of regional airports   5) our aircraft have no more than two seats.

The current breed of small aircraft can be quite handy. For example, our Jabiru J160C training aircraft could fly from Wagga back to the Jabiru factory at Bundaberg non-stop and with a safe fuel reserve. Fuel burn would typically be 100/110 litres for this run. The distance is around 1,200 kilometres and this would take six and a half to seven hours.

A typical training flight usually lasts for about an hour. That's about all most students, on most days, can handle. Prior to this, you will perform a pre-flight inspection of the aircraft, and possibly refuel, as well as undergo a briefing on the lesson ahead. After landing, there is usually an informal de-brief. It's safe to say that you should plan on spending two hours or more at the aerodrome. If you are pressed for time, we are happy for you to cancel, rather than rushing the lesson.

It is important not to become dehydrated when flying. A few swigs of your favourite non- alcoholic brew, prior to take-off or during flight, will minimise headaches and maximise your available concentration. Of course, sunnies and skin protection are always suggested. Aerodromes tend to be flat and windswept, so in winter, bring something warm to chuck on while you're wandering about. Of course, after an intense session of circuits and bumps, we'll have you sweating like a pig!

We operate on the basis that you settle your account after each lesson. This means that you are never committed to return. Of course, we are always committed to help you succeed!

Our aircraft are equipped with headsets. However, if you have your own, we encourage you to bring them along and plug 'em in.

During the early stages of your training it is best if you are able to clearly observe the reactions of the aircraft to your control inputs. Atmospheric turbulence masks this desirable feedback. Therefore, we attempt to fly at times of minimum turbulence. The autumn and winter months often produce beautiful 'still' days. However, during the hot months the best shot at good conditions is from dawn until nine or ten A.M. After that it's no fun, so we go home. Sometimes you can score some good conditions in the last two hours of daylight.

Best progress is made if you fly once a week or more. Many choose to take their time and fly less frequently. This is not a problem but does mean that some of each flying session is consumed in getting back up to speed, thus resulting in slower progress.

 

Enjoy your journey !

.....................but wait, there's more.................

 

  USEFUL  WEBSITES  for the curious.....all directly related

 www.jabiru.net.au        You can even download your own pilots handbook for our J160C training aircraft here.

 www.casa.gov.au        This Commonwealth Govt. Dept. regulates aviation.  At this site you can explore the world of aviation regulations.....have fun with that!                                  Much hard core info here, and many useful advisory publications ( called CAAPs ).

 www.raa.asn.au           This mob administer so called recreational flying on behalf of CASA.  There is a wealth of useful stuff here.